Calico
by Takara-Star
Summary: Kyo and Tohru are making plans to be married. But some strange encounters may put their plans on hold as they try to help someone in need. In doing so, Tohru and Kyo's love is put to the test as one by one, things happen that could end up ruining it all.
1. Curse the Planning

Calico

Calico

Chapter One: Curse the Planning

By Takara-Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

"_NO! STOP! Please…I BEG OF YOU…don't do THIS!"_

_Words like this from someone like me have no effect whatsoever. I can't tell you how much pain I endured; how much torture I experienced, both physically and mentally. No words could give it justice. Being looked down upon, beaten, harassed, assaulted…even I can't fully fathom my experiences. Being the most despised…the most pitied thing in this family…what else can I say except… that it tears me apart._

Tohru's eyes stared in horror and in shock at the thing that she was wearing. Then to her bridal consultant who was smacking her gum, lipstick gooey.

"Looks good on ya, toots," said Roxy, the consultant.

The dress was simply…hideous. It was white on top, with a super plunging neckline just past her belly button. Then, under that, a bush of multicolor feathers that extended from her hip to mid thigh. Hideous? Yup. "Roxy-san…um, it's not, um, my style of dress."

"Oi," said Arisa, rolling her eyes. "Roxy, all you've picked out for her are Las Vegas stripper outfits."

"I know," said Rin glaring at Roxy. "Are you _trying _to make her look as cheap as you'd be on your wedding day?"

Roxy narrowed her eyes at them. "I ain't cheap."

"You certainly look it," Arisa scoffed.

"You're treadin' on thin ice, blondie," Roxy said, throwing her gum into the garbage.

"It looks like a featherless chicken's wedding dress," said Arisa with a snicker.

"I don't think even a chicken would wear that thing," Rin added, grimacing.

Tohru's eyes widened. She could tell things were about to go wrong. Very wrong. "Uo-chan…Isuzu-san...," she murmured worriedly.

Hana sighed. "Arisa…Rin…she's not worth it."

Ignoring them, Arisa exclaimed, "Are you trying to make her look like a prostitute?"

"Uo-cha-"

"Are you insulting my designs?" Roxy asked, giving them a glare.

Arisa laughed as if the consultant were the biggest idiot on earth. "No, I'm complimenting you…these are simply the nicest stripper outfits I've ever seen in person." Arisa crossed her arms with a fake, mocking, smile.

"They're wedding gowns!" Roxy exclaimed, raising her fist. "Nothin' more, nothin' less."

"They are not!" Rin yelled.

"Are too!" Roxy yelled back.

"Are not!"

"Are too!"

"Are not!"

"Are not!"

"Ha ha," said Arisa, smugly teasing Roxy. "You said 'not'."

Getting angry, Roxy inadvertently pulled off her bright pink wig, revealing a buzz cut underneath. "GET OUT!" she screamed.

Arisa bit her lip, holding back laughter. "Ooh… Yes, yes. We're leaving…after we get Tohru out of this thing!"

"Grr…" Roxy said, picking up her wig, and stomping out of the room. Then she mumbled, "Why can't I ever make any money?"

Hana looked at Arisa and Rin seriously. "You two…you really exasperated the life out of that woman." She walked over to Tohru, and unzipped the hideous dress. Tohru stepped out of it, and placed it on its hanger. Arisa then handed Tohru her dress. She slipped it over her head, and said, "Um, er…finding a wedding dress is hard work."

Kisa, who had been a quiet little angel the entire time, until now said, "Onee-chan…what about Ayame oji-chan?"

Arisa cocked her head curiously. "You mean the long haired dude who is Yuki's brother?"

"Uh-huh," replied Kisa with a nod.

"Well, good thinking, kiddo!" Arisa said, patting the girl's head. Kisa smiled up at her sweetly.

"I wonder why we never thought of it before," Hana said, opening the front door.

"We probably should have gone there in the first place," Tohru said with a nervous laugh, and walking out.

"Yeah," Arisa added. "He could also do our bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dress too."

Kyo picked up the phone and dialed the number that was on the brochure. His job, was finding a nice place for Tohru and him to stay after the wedding. Oh Joy. Kyo was looking forward to everything, but, his job was, um, awkward for him. And needless to say, he wasn't having much luck finding a nice hotel. The people who made the reservations were completely unreasonable idiots.

"Hello," Kyo said into the phone. "Yes, I would like to make a room reservation…" His face became confused. "How old am I? 19…yeah, the room is for two people…" then his eyes turned angry as the person on the other line said something else. "Whaddya mean '_pervert' _? Look you…" Kyo's face became even angrier as he listened. "I'm getting married! I am so NOT a liar! What is it with you people? Don't you want our money?" Kyo found himself becoming enraged. "You listen to me, bozo! I am NOT that kind of guy! I'm only doing what most guys do for their fiancé before they get married!" _Click!_ He slammed down the phone, and slumped down on the couch. He called ten 4-star hotels today; and for what? Each of them accused him of being a 'pervert'.

Kazuma smiled, pretending to read the paper. "Let me guess…you need help."

"Yes," Kyo said, tossing the phone and the brochure at Kazuma. He easily caught them in his hands. He looked at the brochure that said:

_Sakura Bridge Hotel: A lovely place to relax; no matter where you're headed, or trying to get away from._

"This is the place you want?" Kazuma asked curiously. The brochure was pink; and it honestly didn't look like something Kyo would pick.

Kyo sighed in exasperation. "The wedding is mainly for the _bride_ isn't it?"

Kazuma pondered this. "Yes…that's true. If it were up to us men, things would be much different."

"Exactly. But…I'm doing this because I know she'll like it," Kyo said, looking out the window.

"And that's why we guys become such saps when we're in love," said Kuunimitsu, popping his head into the room

Kyo stood up in an irritated fashion. "Kuunimitsu!" Kyo said, gritting his teeth. "Stop eavesdropping!"

"Yes, Kuunimitsu; it's not polite," Kazuma said with a chuckle. "But you are right. We do tend to get rather sentimental when we're in love, don't we? It's like all we care about is making the woman happy."

Kyo blushed. "Sentimental? I'm not-"

"Just admit it, Kyo. You've become a sap!" Kuunimitsu teased.

"You, out. Now!" Kyo pushed him out of the room. When Kuunimitsu was finally gone, Kyo sighed and turned to Kazuma. "Shishou…I'm begging you. Call them now, and just get it over with. I'm exhausted." He slumped tiredly onto the couch.

Kazuma chuckled again, and dialed the number into the phone. He talked to the person on the other line for a few minutes, then said 'thank you' and hung up. "There we go," he said smiling. "One elaborate suite."

Kyo groaned. "Thank you. This is just so…awkward."

Kazuma looked at him curiously. "What do you mean?"

"This…making plans for after the wedding," Kyo said, blushing. "It's just so…weird. I never really had a chance growing up to notice girls 'cause I was practicing martial arts morning, noon, and night. It's somewhat a good thing, I guess. But I still feel like I'm weird."

Kazuma suppressed a laugh he felt rising up in him. "Uh…well, I don't think you're weird. It is actually a good thing, I think. At least you don't have a problem with disrespecting girls in such a way. There are a lot of guys who do, though. Also you've never really had interest in other girls, so, you only have eyes for Tohru-san."

Kyo rolled his eyes. "Whatever. I guess that's ONE way of putting it."

"Probably the reason the hotel people called you a pervert is because of how young you are. There aren't many people at your age getting married," Kazuma said, folding up his paper.

"I know," Kyo said grumbling. "But I hear it all the time. Shigure…that idiot. You know what he did a few weeks ago?"

"No, tell me."

_Flashback_

"_Tohru!" Kyo called, knocking on her door. "Are you ready yet? We need to go see Akito now."_

"_Okay!" Tohru said back. "I'm almost done."_

_Tohru opened door, and Kyo froze to look at her. She was wearing a red dress. The dress was slightly off shoulder, with a low neckline, but not plunging. It was velvet._

"_Um," Kyo said, trying to find words. "I-is that dress new?"_

"_Y-yes…I didn't have a dress that was actually, um, suitable for going to see Akito and getting permission to get married. Um, er, that is…Uo-chan, and Hana-chan bought it for me," She replied, blushing._

"_It's, uh, different to see you wearing something like this. It looks really nice," he said with a small smile._

"_It does?" Tohru asked, surprised. _

"_Yeah, it does. I like it."_

_Suddenly, a voice called out yelling, "Don't worry Tohru-kun!" It was stupid old Shigure. He grabbed Tohru's arms, and pulled her away from Kyo. _

"_Wah? Wah?!" exclaimed Tohru._

"_I will save you from the malicious sicko, Kyo the Ripper!"_

_End Flashback_

"Ummmm…" Kazuma said, trying to find the right words to say back to that little story Kyo just told.

Kyo rolled his eyes, and shook his head. "Yeah, and I gave him a knock on the head he'll never forget. Tohru did the most surprising thing as well…"

"What was that?" Kazuma asked, curiously.

"She slapped him. But, it was one of those instant reactions. It left a red mark the size of her hand. But, after word, she kept apologizing like crazy. But I _was_ impressed, though," Kyo said with a smile.

Kazuma chuckled. "I should say so."

Tohru stared out her window. _Rain._ It had been so sunny earlier, while she and her friends were out shopping. She had scheduled an appointment with Ayame the next day to get measured for the dress he was going to make for her. The biggest surprise? He was going to do her dress, the bridesmaid dresses, and the flower girl dress for free. She was glad the price was taken care of for the dresses. Now she could spend a little more money on other things for the wedding.

Tohru continued to stare out her window, when something caught her eye. Underneath one of the trees, was a cat. A beautiful calico cat. It's orange, white, and black markings were absolutely perfect, and patterned; instead of being jumbled up. Tohru jumped up, realizing that it was probably cold and hungry. She quickly ran out of her room, accidentally knocking Kyo's juzu beads off of her dresser.

She went into the kitchen, and poured some milk into a bowl. As she poured it, she watched the cat from the kitchen window. Then she walked outside and set the bowl on the ground. But, when she looked up, the cat was gone. She stood there dumbfounded. It was there just a second ago. She stood in the rain pondering this. Could cats really move that fast?

"Tohru, what are you doing?" Kyo called from the porch; breaking her train of thought. She turned to him with surprise.

"Um…"

"Get over here. You're going to catch cold if you stay out there. And what are you doing with that bowl of milk?" He looked at her curiously.

She picked up the bowl, and walked over to him; blushing and soaking wet. "There was a pretty calico cat out here. I thought she might be hungry. Then she just vanished. I've never seen a cat disappear as quickly as she did." Tohru set the bowl down on the porch.

"And you stood out in the rain, thinking about it like a ditz?" He teased. He pulled her into a hug, even though she was soaked. "She might come back. You never know."

"I hope she does. She seemed so sad, Kyo-kun," Tohru replied, closing her eyes, and resting her head against him. "And lonely."

"I can believe that," he replied quietly. _I believe it because you know what it feels like to be lonely._ Then, breaking away from the hug, he said, "Let's go in and get you dried off."

"Okay."

_True happiness? The only thing that EVER gave my life meaning was Kasuke. He accepted me. He loved me. He saw me as a person- even though, in actuality, I was ugly, and horrifying to gaze upon in what I really was. He was constantly telling me he loved me, and how beautiful I was. He always told me that some way, some how, we'd break the curse; so that one day he could truly hold me. Just as we were going to run from this cursed family, it all came to an abrupt halt as we tried to run. His last words to me were, "You remember where to meet, right Sara? I love you. I'll see you soon." Who'd have ever thought we'd fail?_

A/N: Welcome to my new fanfiction, _Calico._ I'm getting excited about this one as well. _Lovely Circumstances_ was a great success, and I hope everyone enjoys this new one. Again, this story contains spoilers. Just a warning, if you don't already know them.

God Bless!

-Takara-Star


	2. Help! You Know I Need Someone!

Calico

Calico

Chapter Two: Help, You Know I Need Someone!

By Takara-Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket.

--Curtains Up—

"Arms up, Tohru-kun!" Mine said, wrapping the measuring tape around her bust. Then, Mine wrote down the number. Tohru sighed as she saw the number, secretly wishing that she were the same size as Isuzu. _But, _she thought to herself, trying to stay optimistic._ It's not as if I'm flat chested. I have to be grateful for that._ She couldn't very well change herself…well, she could; But she didn't have the money to do so, and the thought of plastic, gel filled things inside of her, scared her.

"Ooo, you'll love the material we've picked out for your dress, Tohru-kun!" Mine said, eyes-a-gleaming. "It's pure white, silk that's imported from one of the best manufacturers from China!"

"Really?" Tohru asked, eyes lighting up. "I'll bet it's really beautiful!"

Arisa nodded. "You're going to look so pretty when we're done with you. Kyo's not gonna know what hit him when you walk down that aisle. He may go into Cardiac arrest!"

"Eh? Really?" Tohru said, taking it seriously.

"No, she's just exaggerating, Tohru," Isuzu said, rolling her eyes.

"O-oh…"

Mine wrapped the measuring tape around her tiny waist. "What are the colors for your wedding, Tohru-kun?"

"White," Tohru replied. "Kyo-kun and I decided on white."

"Really? That makes things a little easier for the bridesmaid and flower girl dresses," Mine replied with a smile.

Tohru nodded. "Yes, but, can you and Ayame-san make Hana-chan's black? She feels more comfortable wearing black?"

Hana shook her head. "Oh, Tohru-kun. You don't have to do that on my behalf. It wouldn't be fitting. I'll just keep my nails black like I did when we were in school."

"Eh? B-but are you sure you won't be uncomfortable. Hana-chan?"

Hana nodded. "Yes, I'll be just fine. Like I said, I'll just keep my nails black."

"O-okay," Tohru replied with a sigh. "I-if you're sure."

Then, Ayame burst out from the back with a loud voice. "My dearest Tohru-kun and friends! I. the wonderful person that I am, have completed the design for Tohru-kun's dress in ten minutes flat! I am coming forthwith to show you!"

"Really, Ayame-san? I can't wait to see!" Tohru said with an excited smile.

Ayame walked up to them, smiling proudly. "Here it is! Tohru-kun's dress!" He flashed the design at them.

Tohru's eyes began to glimmer as she looked at it. "Oh oh oh! I love it, Ayame-san! It's perfect! That's exactly what I want!"

"Wow, that's cute," said Arisa, wideyed.

Kisa nodded in agreement. "It looks like a princess dress!"

Hana looked at it, lost in thought, and Rin just looked at it, not saying or seeming to think anything.

"Do you want a veil to go with it, Tohru-kun?" Mine asked.

Tohru shook her head. "No. I just want flowers in my hair, Mine-san."

"That has a nice ring to it," Mine said, pondering this. "Aren't there more women doing that nowadays? Flowers instead of a veil?"

"Yes, I believe so," said Ayame with a nod. "I have seen a quite deal more of women put flowers in their hair."

--Curtains Up--

Tohru and Isuzu sat on the bed reading a shojo magazine. It was continuing to rain outside, and there was really not much else to do.

"Is Kyo doing well with his side of the planning, Tohru?" Isuzu asked, looking up at her.

"I don't know. He's not telling me anything about it. He wants it all to be a surprise," Tohru replied, flipping the page.

Isuzu suddenly looked up as something caught her eye. She gazed out of the window, but then realized that there was nothing there. Then she saw a flash of orange. She sat up, looking intently out the window. She shook Tohru's arm frantically. "Tohru…look out the window."

Tohru sat up as well, and looked out. Sitting in the tree was a girl. She was wearing a beautiful furisode; and her physical features were striking as well. Her hair was mainly orange, with black and white highlights. Her eyes were gold, and her skin a creamy ivory; and her cheeks were rosy. But the girl looked very sad, nonetheless. She was crying.

Tohru reacted by opening the window. "Are you okay?" she called. "Do you need help?"

Then the girl looked up with a surprised face, then vanished.

"What was that?!" exclaimed Isuzu, practically screaming.

Tohru fell back from Isuzu's outburst, bumping her head. "Ow…"

Isuzu looked over to Tohru in surprise. "Hey, are you okay? I'm sorry!" She helped Tohru sit back up. "I know you still have a bruise on your head, don't you?"

Tohru winced, while the back of her head throbbed. "I-it's okay, Isuzu-san. I'll be fine. I just…feel like I've seen her before, but I know I haven't. Plus she seems sad, doesn't she? It makes me want to cry seeing someone so upset."

"Hey, don't start crying on me, Tohru!" Isuzu said with a sigh."

"Okay," Tohru whispered. "I'll try."

--Curtains Up—

-Sara's POV-

Who are these girls? They were both staring at me earlier, while I was in the tree. One girl normal looking, the other beautiful. It kind of startled me. I don't know. Maybe it's because I don't talk to others very much. I'm sitting on this large fluffy bed, and I wonder who's room this is. Then, I lift myself up to walk about this room. Then, just by looking around, I see that this room belongs to the normal girl. There are photos on her desk. Four, actually. The first one is a picture of the girl, and an older woman (older than _her_ I mean. It wasn't an old woman by any means). Was it her mother? In the second photo is a picture of the girl and two others. One with blonde hair, and the other one with wavy black hair. The third one is one where she's sitting with this really pretty…boy. The third one is the one that strikes me most. There is a photo of her and another boy. This boy has orange hair-the exact same shade as mine; only it doesn't have the white and black highlights. His eyes are the same as a marmalade cat's. The very same. The boy is holding the normal looking girl. They are both happy. In love. But, this boy…isn't he the cat? How is he holding her? I look over to another part of the dresser, and then I have my answer.

In a small container, holds some red and white beads. My eyes widen at this. So…the curse did break; and this boy could be with the one he loves. I pull back the sleeve on my furisode to look at my bracelet. Of course I'd still have mine. I am but a spirit, right? These beads were a huge part of my life. So course I'd still have them. I walk about the room looking and thinking. There was a way to have broken the curse…but I guess Kasuke and I probably wouldn't have figured it out anyway.

I sit down at the small table, and begin to think. I think about my life, and wonder whatever happened to Kasuke. I was killed. But still, to this day, I don't know what became of him. But then I notice that the girl is sitting up, and looking at me. Her eyes wide with curiosity.

-regular POV-

Tohru stared at the girl sitting in her room. She was quite surprised to see her there. She wasn't frightened by any means, but also wondered if this were a dream. She pinched herself, and yelped in pain. So _not_ a dream.

"You know, I should think it would be obvious if it were a dream or not," Sara said, shaking her head.

"Uh…er…I-I suppose you're right, um, ghost-san…" Tohru said in surprise.

Sara rolled her eyes. "My name is Sara. Not 'ghost-san'. Now, what is your name?"

"Um," said Tohru taken aback. "Um, well, my name is Tohru Honda."

Sara's eyes widened. "I've never heard of a girl with that name before."

"My parents wanted to name me something different," Tohru said with a nervous laugh.

Sara cocked an eyebrow. "I see…"

Tohru looked down at Sara's wrist. She gasped and said, "Sara-san…are you possessed by the cat?"

Sara's face dropped. "Yes."

Tohru moved from her bed to sit across from Sara. "But I always assumed that the cat would only be a boy. A marmalade cat."

"Yes, it's supposed to be. But, the next one needed to be born was the cat. I was the next one to be born. But I was a female from the time I was conceived. I ended up as a calico cat…since only marmalade cats are boys, and calico cats are girls. I'm the only girl who's ever been possessed by the cat. Because it's different that I'm a girl, and it's unheard of, my true form is even more disgustingly hideous and more putrid smelling than if I were a boy," Sara told Tohru, tightening her fist. _I've also had it worse than any other cat too,_ she thought sadly.

"You two talk loud. You know that?"

Tohru and Sara jumped in surprise, and turned to Isuzu.

"Uh,er, I'm sorry Isuzu-san!" Tohru exclaimed in a whisper. "You were sleeping, weren't you?"

She sat up with a sigh. "No. I've just been laying here. It really surprised me when I saw Sara in here walking around. I just didn't say anything."

"You're not freaking out? Curious…" said Sara, cocking and eyebrow.

"No, I already did that earlier when we saw you in the tree. You don't seem like a scary spirit anyway," Isuzu said with a shrug.

"How much did you hear?" Sara asked.

"Everything. Besides…I don't really like sleeping. I only sleep when my body gets really exhausted," Isuzu said with a small yawn. "So you are…one of the previous cats. No one ever told me that there was a female cat."

"I was the first and last, apparently. The curse is broken, isn't it? I noticed the broken juzu beads on your desk, Tohru-san," Sara said, motioning her head towards it.

"Yes. My fiancé, Kyo-kun was the last cat," said Tohru smiling happily. "Isuzu-san was the horse."

Sara looked down sadly. "I…should go. I-it's been a pleasure meeting you both." She stood up, eyes low to hide the tears forcing their way out.

"But, Sara-san! We just met, and I have so many things I want to…" Tohru watched as a tear fell to the floor. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing!" Sara exclaimed, crying harder. Then she disappeared into thin air, going off to compose herself.

Tohru stood up, eyes wide in shock. "Did I say something to offend her?"

Isuzu shook her head. "I don't know. I can't think of anything you may have said that could have."

_Knock! Knock!_ "Tohru! What's going on? Are you and Rin okay?" Kyo asked through the door.

Tohru walked over and opened the door. "Yes, we're fine, Kyo-kun."

Kyo looked behind her at Isuzu, who had out a nail file. "I thought I heard someone else in here. You all were talking pretty loudly…at 3:30 in the morning."

"Oh! I'm sorry Kyo-kun! We'll be quieter. We just, uh, um…" Tohru said, losing her words.

"Was there someone else in here?" Kyo asked curiously.

"Yes," Isuzu said, looking up from filing her nails.

"Who?" Kyo crossed his arms.

"None of your business, Kyo," Isuzu said, expressionless. "She just left anyway."

"Ooooookay…" Kyo looked back to Tohru. "Just keep it down, okay?" _It was probably only Uotani, or Hana Jima, _he thought to himself.

"Okay. I'm sorry we disturbed you, Kyo-kun. I'll see you in a few hours," Tohru said, closing the door.

Kyo chuckled, shook his head and walked back to his room. He laid down on his futon and stared up at his ceiling at a poster of a martial artist. He lay there for thirty minutes. He probably wouldn't be able to go back to sleep now. And he didn't.

He continued to lay there, thinking. As he did though, the room somehow began feeling cold.

"Stupid Shigure's trying to freeze us," he mumbled in irritation, pulling the covers over himself some more to keep warm; but even that didn't work. It felt like winter in that room. He flipped over on to his back, about to get up. But as he did so, his eyes became locked with gold ones.

"Boo," said the figure with golden eyes.

"AHH!" Kyo yelled, jumping up quicker than you could say, "Kick you to the moon." He jumped up so fast, that he lost his footing; and his feet became tangled in the blanket. He fell backwards knocking some books off of the shelf. He sat there in a daze for a moment, catching his breath. He opened his eyes again to fully see the figure with the gold eyes.

"Yes, get scared of me, why don't you? I'm _really_ terrifying, "Sara said sarcastically.

"AHH!" Kyo yelled again, and jumped up. It was still quite dark in his room, and, therefore, ran into the wall. He fell over, unconscious.

"That went well," Sara said, rolling her eyes. "But at the same time, I wonder what will happen if I come back some other time?" She actually laughed. She hadn't meant to scare Kyo that badly…but, whatever, right? He was fine. He'd be fine. She'd be back- and hopefully he wouldn't freak. And so, she disappeared from the room.

"Kyo-kun!" Tohru exclaimed, throwing open the door. "Kyo-kun…are you…?"

Tohru and Isuzu stared in surprise at his once tidy and organized room. Then at Kyo laying in a position that said, 'I-did-crash-into-the-wall-thank-you-very-much.'

"Ugh. Sara must have appeared to him. I wonder if she scared him on purpose?" Isuzu said, walking into the room. Tohru followed after, walking over to Kyo.

"H-heaven forbid! I really don't think Sara-san meant to scare him this bad!" Tohru said, trying to shake Kyo awake. "Snap out of if, Kyo-kun!"

"How can you be so sure, Tohru?" Isuzu asked, rolling her eyes, and picking up Kyo's books.

"I just get that feeling, Isuzu-san..."

Suddenly, Yuki walked in, switching on the light. "What's going on in here?" he asked tiredly.

Isuzu sighed. "We're having a situation here."

"I can see that," Yuki said, starting to wake up some. "What happened?"

Tohru shook Kyo some more; this time harder. "You wouldn't believe it if we told you, Yuki-kun."

"Yeah. Who'd have thought he'd have gotten scared to death over a ghost?" Isuzu said, fixing Kyo's futon.

Yuki looked taken aback. "Ghost?" He turned away. "Maybe I'm still dreaming."

"No," Isuzu said, flinging a book at him, hitting him in the chest. "You're awake."

Yuki grimaced. "Well, you don't have to throw a book at me, Rin."

"Whatever. At least you know you're awake, right?" Isuzu rolled her eyes.

"I'm going back to bed," Yuki said, turning away in irritation.

Tohru shook Kyo a little harder again. "Wake up!" But to know avail; He was wonderfully knocked out.

Isuzu sighed, and noticed a cup of water on his desk. "Here we go." She dumped the water on him.

Kyo jumped up with a start. "Wha-what?" He looked at Tohru, then at Isuzu. "Wha-who poured that water on me?"

"Me, " Isuzu said shamelessly.

Kyo glared up at her, but held back from yelling. "Whatever. Anyway…this may sound stupid; but I saw a ghost."

"I know, Kyo-kun. We met Sara-san too," Tohru replied with a nervous laugh.

"So, I'm not crazy?" Kyo said, looking relieved.

Isuzu shook her head. "Of course not."

"She was one of the previous cats," Tohru said.

"Really?" Kyo's eyes widened. "Wow. I can't believe it."

Tohru nodded. "I hope she comes back. There's so much more I'd like to ask her."

--Curtains Up—

Sara's POV

_As a cat, I can definitely say that it was horrible for me. The worst thing I can remember, was dying in such a way as I did; not knowing what ever happened to Kasuke. I wish desperately that I could see him again. I want that more than anything. But, I can't. I need to figure out what happened to him so that maybe I can move on. But I need to help. Tohru-san seems like such a wonderful person and would seem willing to help. But, how? It would be ideal if she could understand better what I went through so that she could see eye to eye with me. But that would be causing pain to another. I need to decide what I should do. Whether to include her, or just stay like this. Either way would be extremely painful for me._

--Curtains Up—

A/N: Wow. I didn't think it would take this long for me to finish the second chapter for _Calico._ I'm so happy that school is almost out. I'm absolutely exhausted. I need a break desperately. R/R!

God Bless!

-Takara-Star


	3. Before Your Love

Calico

Calico

Chapter 3: Before Your Love

By Takara-Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya

--

_I have decided. I will have Tohru and Kyo help me. It may seem cruel…the way I'm going about things; but I have to show them as closely as possible what it was like for me. It hurts that I had to resort to this. But I need help. Desperately. _

--

Tohru set her towel down on the sand. "How is this spot, Kyo-kun?"

He smiled at her with a nod in approval. "This is fine." He set down the picnic basket, and then stuck the large umbrella in the sand. Tohru slipped her sundress over her head revealing her brand new swimsuit; a pink bikini top and swimskirt with a glitter hearts. She sat down, and began applying sunscreen to her arms, legs, stomach, face and chest. Kyo sat down next to her, and pulled a soda from the picnic basket. "I think I may try getting into the ocean today."

"Really?" She asked in surprise, as she squeezed some more lotion into her hand to apply to her back. She reached back to do so, but struggled with it.

He rolled his eyes with a laugh. "Here, give me that bottle and turn around."

"Okay," Tohru blushed like she had gotten sunburned. She handed him the bottle and turned with her back facing him. "Are you sure you want to get in Kyo-kun?"

He applied some of the sunscreen to her back. "Yeah. I mean, I'm not possessed anymore. I'd like to try it."

"Okay," Tohru said, turning to smile at him. "Let's go now!"

Kyo's eyes widened at her outburst. "Um, okay…" He stood up, and pulled her to her feet. He laced his fingers in hers as they walked toward the water. At the water's edge, Tohru squealed as the cool water reached her toes. Kyo laughed at her, and splashed her.

"Eeeek! Kyo-kun!" She squealed again with a laugh. Tohru kicked some water back up at him.

Kyo laughed as well. "So now you decide to be mean." He splashed her again.

"Eh? Wha wha? M-mean?" Tohru's eyes widened. "I-I'm sorry…"

"Tohru, I'm kidding. It wouldn't be very fair if I splashed you only, now would it?" Kyo rolled his eyes.

"Um…I guess not…," she replied, blushing.

Then, Kyo got a sly smirk on his face. "You know what?"

"What?"

Kyo then suddenly picked her up, and then tossed her into water.

"Ahhh!" Tohru screamed with a laugh. She hit a deeper part of the water with a splash; just as soon as a wave began to break. She seemingly tumbled with it, then came back up panting. "W-wow...that was something…"

Kyo couldn't hold back a laugh forcing itself out. He moved out toward her. "You know…this isn't so bad. I'm actually having fun."

"R-really?" Tohru replied trying to catch her breath. When she finally got it back, she jumped on Kyo's back and tried to wrestle him down underneath the water. Normally she wouldn't do something like this, but...he knew she was playing.

"Gah! Girl, you've gone crazy!" Kyo exclaimed, laughing, and fighting back as well as he could without hurting her.

"You tossed me though, Kyo-kun!" Tohru giggled, pulling on him with all her might, hoping that would do it.

"That's true…but still…you're so little. I really don't think you'll be able to get me down," He said, grabbing her arms, and flipping her over his head, into the water.

Tohru came back up again. "I guess you're right, Kyo-kun." She sighed heavily.

He sat on his knees in the water, and pulled her into a hug and laughed. "I didn't know there was a 'feisty' side of you."

Tohru blushed, but still smiled and laughed with him. "Me either."

Then, without warning, Tohru jumped at Kyo, knocking him underneath her into the water. "Gotcha!" She yelled.

A splash appeared where they were before, and a large wave knocked over them as they went over. When they came back up, Kyo sat there, looking at her, wide eyed. "Wow…" then the corners of his mouth began to turn up at the corners. And a big laugh escaped from him.

Tohru just sat smiling at him. She was really enjoying herself. She had never acted this way. When she was with him, she felt like she could be who she was all the way. She leaned forward and touched his face. "Love you."

Kyo leaned closer to her, and said, "Love you too. Ha, That was great. And here I thought you were predictable."

Tohru quickly kissed him. "I'm not that predictable though; am I Kyo-kun?"

"Now, I'm thinking, 'no'. But, you are predictable most of the time."

Suddenly, a really huge wave crashed over them. The wave crashed and rolled, splitting them apart. Tohru was sent spinning. She was too shocked to even react. She kept rolling and rolling, having no clue where she was rolling to. Kyo was only knocked over for a second, figuring that Tohru was just the same. She wasn't. Tohru couldn't find her way up. She suddenly felt her whole body lose movement; kind of as if her whole body was falling asleep; other than just her leg or arm. Then, it all went black, and she lost her grip on the light she saw in her head.

--

"TOHRU!" Kyo screamed. He desperately ran around searching for her. He felt fear and stinging tears rising up in him as he searched. He almost lost her once; he wasn't sure what'd he do if he actually did. Not just the fact that he promised her mother he'd look after her, but because he wasn't sure he could live without her. How he was living before he met her wasn't living at all, as far as he was concerned.

"Hey!" A male lifeguard, and a pretty female lifeguard came running over to him.

"What's going on?" the girl said frantically. "Wasn't there just a girl with you?"

Kyo looked at them and nodded furiously. "My fiancé! Now don't just stand there! Help me find her!" Then, he turned and began to look for her again.

"Hey, Sohma-san. Calm down. We will find Honda-san," The male lifeguard said.

Kyo turned to the guy, surprised that the guy knew his name. Then, when he looked at his face, he knew who it was. He'd never actually talked to him; and he didn't really knew who he was until one of his friends pointed it out to him like he was stupid. "Manabe?"

"In the flesh," Manabe said with a sad smile. "Now, no more talking." He ran off into the water and swam off.

"Stay here," the girl lifeguard said. There's something up with the ocean. There are some dangerous waves today."

Kyo nodded numbly, and stood there staring out at the water. He wasn't sure what to do. Suddenly, another wave crashed, and he saw her. Tohru lay at the water's edge, motionless.

--

--Tohru's POV—

It was the weirdest thing. You never get used to that feeling. I had it before when the cliff broke that day, and I fell. That feeling as if your whole body was going numb; It's overwhelmingly frightening and excruciating. That hopeless, darkening feeling. The waves tossed me, and threw me. I then felt my whole body become consumed; just as it did that day. I kept frantically moving my arms about to reach for Kyo-kun. I couldn't feel him. I couldn't feel his embrace around me to pull me out. I couldn't feel his strong arms around me to comfort me and tell me that it was okay. I knew he probably couldn't find me. That's what it seemed like. I wanted to cry, but couldn't. I knew that if I couldn't find him, he couldn't find me. That's what it felt like. I knew Kyo-Kun wouldn't just let this happen to me.

Suddenly, my whole body felt like it was letting go. I was trying to tell it 'no'. But the darkness around me had the power. What was I, but a weak, powerless speck within it. What was I but an insect being crushed by it. This was it. I began to become sure of it; but there was this part of me that still tried to fight back. But, as if I still had some strength in me, the darkness didn't consume all of me. I could feel it. I did have some hope left in me. I began to feel as if I was floating. Coming back to life.

--

--Kyo's POV—

I wasn't sure what I could say. There she was. She lay there motionless at the water's edge; and my heart sank, expecting the worst. I ran over to her, and began to shake her.

"TOHRU! TOHRU!" I yelled at her seemingly lifeless body. I placed one hand on her chest, trying to feel if there was a heartbeat. I felt something; like a quiver; as if something was struggling to break through and come back to life. That gave me some glimmer of hope. But, I couldn't do anything. I began to notice people beginning to gather around me.

"Sohma, let me do it," I heard Manabe say. He knelt down, and began to perform CPR. I sat there feeling stupid. I wished desperately that there was something that I could do. I stared down at her as he pumped her chest up and down, pausing to push air into her lungs. I felt pathetic. At least she was getting help. At least she might be the smiling, happy, beautiful girl I know again. If that disappeared…I'm not sure what would happen to me. If she completely left my life…would I fall back into the way I was before? Even though I knew what she wanted for me, I'm not sure if I could follow through with it. I really believe it would be hard to cope without her.

Suddenly, I heard a airy, and raspy breath come from her. It continued that way for about a minute, accompanied by coughs. But then, her chest began to rise and fall normally. I sighed a sigh of relief, and her eyes began to open slowly.

--

A/N: I'm sorry I took so long to get back to writing this. But, I hope this story does as well as Lovely Circumstances. I will do my best to get on here to type up these chapters. I'm now in Marching Band at school as a Flag Girl…so, that takes up a lot of my time. I will try to use the majority of my extra time to type this.

GO c/o '09!!

God Bless!

-Takara-Star


	4. Stolen Gift

Calico

Calico

Chapter 4: Stolen Gift.

By Takara-Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. All of the characters belong to Natsuki Takaya. (Oi, I hate having to type this. Everyone knows I don't own it. I have no intentions of stealing it either.)

--

_Drowning is one of the worst feelings. I remember an outing I had with Kasuke one day going to the beach. As much as I didn't want to, he convinced me to get into the water. He said, "If we are going to break the curse one day, you might as well get used to it." He laughed his laughed that rang like a church bell. I shook my head with a small smile and said, "Fine, Kasuke. Whatever." He took my hand and led me to the oceans edge. I looked at it with contempt and uncertainty. But with one small step, my toes touched water. I jolted back in surprise. I hissed at it, as funny as that sounds. But, I am a cat after all; it was only a natural reaction. Kasuke laughed at me again. I looked at him in irritation. Then, I kicked water up at him. He laughed again saying, "Now that's my feisty Sara." He splashed me back, his eyes dancing. "You are so dead," I told him, a slight smirk on my face. We began to play. One look at Kasuke, and I forgot completely that I hated water. I guess my true form liked him too._

_But all our fun was about to come to an abrupt halt. I had never learned how to swim, on account of the fact that I hated water. We were pretty much just wading; the water was up to my knees. Suddenly, a rather large wave shot up, knocking us both down. Apparently, Kasuke had shot right back up. But me? No. I was becoming a drowned cat. I was lucky to be alive. _

--

Tohru let out a groan as she slowly began to open her eyes. She stared up at a ceiling that she didn't recognize. She heard a beeping sound; like a machine. Her eyes darted down to her arm where an IV was placed. She slowly sat up, and looked around tiredly. She looked over and saw Kyo sleeping in a chair next to her bed. She then looked out the door to her room, where someone was being pushed to another room. Then, the memories started to come back to her.

The last thing she remembered, she and Kyo were at the beach. They were playing, and then she got carried by the waves. Then, nothing. She looked to the window, where the only thing she could see was a tall streetlight right next to her window. She noticed a clock on the wall. It was two o'clock AM.

"Honda-san?" A nurse said, coming into the room. "Are you okay?"

Tohru looked to her in surprise. "Y-yes. I'm okay. I just woke up. Is Kyo-kun okay Nurse-san?"

The nurse nodded. "Yeah. He's just fine. He's just been waiting for you to wake up; but it seems he fell asleep himself." She laughed heartily. "He seems to really care about you. You're really lucky."

Tohru smiled. "Will I be able to leave here soon?"

The nurse smiled ."Yes, I should say so. The fact that you are wide-awake right now, and talking to me is a good sign." The nurse handed her a cup of water. "Here, drink this. If you drink this, you may get to go home sooner; like maybe around nine AM."

"That would be nice. I have a dress fitting today for all my bridesmaids and me. It's at noon," Tohru said, breathing a sigh of relief.

"Oh, you're getting married? Is _he_ your fiancé?" The nurse said, pointing to Kyo.

"Yes. We're having an outdoor wedding. It going to be at the Sohma estate in the gardens," Tohru said happily.

"That's nice. Oh, yes," the nurse said as if a light bulb went off in her head. "The lifeguard that helped save you…um…Manabe-san, I think it was told me to tell you that he hopes that your recovery goes well."

"Manabe-san was the lifeguard?" Tohru blinked in surprise. "I…don't know what to say."

"You know him?"

"Yes, he was the Vice-President of our school. I also knew him a little before that too…"

"Ah. First love?"

Tohru blushed. "N-no. Th-that's not what I meant Nurse-san! I meant that we conversed some but it wasn't exactly on good terms. H-he apologized one day to me, though. He's my friend Yuki-kun's best friend…so we see quite a bit of eachother more often now."

Then, Kyo sat up in his chair and stretched. He looked up at Tohru, and he smiled. "Hey. You feel okay?"

"Yes. I feel just fine. We may be able to go home in a few hours," Tohru smiled back sweetly.

The nurse looked to them, and turned toward the doorway. "I'll be back in a little while. I'm sure you both have a little to catch up on."

--

"Yes yes yes!" Ayame exclaimed, clasping his hands together. "It is perfect! Tohru-kun looks like a vision of loveliness. And if I do say so, the modesty of this dress portrays the wonderful innocence that surrounds her. Wouldn't you say, Mine?"

"Oh, yes boss. Most definitely. Tohru-kun looks like an innocent blushing bride. The exact look you were trying to convey," Mine smiled happily. "Kyo-kun is going to fall over when he gets a load of you."

Tohru stared at herself in the mirror in utter shock. This was it. No other place she had been to had the right dress. As she stared at herself she knew that this was the right one. It just…suited her perfectly. She couldn't help but gawk at herself.

"I think Tohru has been struck speechless," Arisa said with a small laugh. "She's never worn a formal dress before."

"Hey, Tohru…You okay?" Isuzu said, crossing her arms.

Tohru snapped out of her reverie and turned to her. "Oh, um…yes, I'm okay, Isuzu-san. I'm just a little surprised by the dress." She turned to Ayame. "This dress is beautiful Ayame-san. You and Mine-san both did a wonderful job." She gave a small bow, and a smile to them.

"Ah, my dear Tohru-kun," Ayame said proudly. "Think nothing of it; but by all means thank me. These hands of mine, and Mine's of course, created this wonderful dress just for you. I'm not expecting praise; but by all means do so. Ha ha ha!"

--

"So," Arisa said looking up at Tohru. "Tell us. What happened at the beach yesterday? I heard it didn't go so well."

Tohru stirred her straw in her Strawberry milkshake. But she let out a small laugh. "No, I suppose it didn't, Uo-chan. I…almost died. I think. I was lucky though. But they let me out of the hospital early because I seemed to be doing well. If People live through that, sometimes brain damage can occur. That's what the doctor told me. I feel pretty lucky."

Hana sighed. "That would be a scary thing for all of us if you got brain damage…especially for Kyo-kun. You are very lucky in this situation."

"Yes," Tohru stared distantly out the window, as if in a trance. But she wasn't. "Odd things are about to happen, I think. I'm not exactly sure what, but I get that feeling."

Arisa and Hana both nodded.

"It does seem that way, doesn't it, Arisa?" Hana asked her.

"Yeah. I guess it does. I guess it's the fact that everything is changing. It's strange that you will be leaving with Kyo in a few weeks, and I with Kureno. What are you going to do, Hana?"

"What I've been doing," Hana sighed again. "Continuing to work for Kazuma-san and getting to know him better."

"Of course," Arisa said chuckling, and rolling her eyes.

Tohru smiled at them. "We'll be keeping in touch, and hopefully see eachother at New Year's. Kyo-kun says we might come back for a visit then."

"That's cool. Is Akii-chan planning something for New Year's already?" Hana asked curiously.

"Sort of," Tohru replied. "She just knows that she wants all of her new friends and her family, of course, to be there."

"Hm," Hana said with a small smirk. "Sounds like a plan."

--

_The most surprising things can happen when you least expect it. I had two other best friends other than Kasuke. Their names were Ruuka and Chii. They weren't members of the zodiac, of course, but they knew of the curse. They both had siblings that were part of the zodiac. Ruuka's older brother was the Ox, and Chii's little sister was the sheep. We had fun together. We would all go out into the woods and do whatever. Kasuke usually came with us. We also would go into town and do some shopping at the market, and maybe even buy some new kimonos. Then, one day after shopping, I was coming back home and excited because I had bought a brand new blue kimono. I had spent my whole month's allowance on it. _

_I walked home imagining myself wearing it on the next outing Kasuke and I would make. It was in the late afternoon, and the sun would probably begin to set within the next hour. The most unexepected thing happened to me. The one thing that I'm going to regret causing to happen to happen to Tohru-san more than anything else that has happened to me. I don't wish my experiences on anyone; but I'm willing to do anything just to know what happened to Kasuke and to see him again._

_I'm sorry Tohru-san. So sorry. My heart breaks to cause what is about to happen to you. Just as it has for everything else that has and will happen._

_--_

Tohru waved goodbye to Arisa and Hana as they parted from the restaurant. She pulled out the brand new cell phone that Shigure had recently bought for her. She found Kyo's cell phone number and pressed the "send" button.

"Hello?" he said into his phone.

"Hello, Kyo-kun. I'm on my way home."

"Hey. Did you have fun?" He said with interest. Tohru could tell he was smiling.

"Yes, I did. I had a wonderful time. We went shopping, and then stopped for dinner. Did you get your dinner okay? I left it on the counter for all of you."

"Yeah. We found it. It was delicious…as always!" Kyo said with a laugh.

"Good. Well, I love you, Kyo-kun. I'll be home in thirty minutes."

"Okay. Love you." With that, they both hung up.

Tohru began walking home with a steady pace. She looked around and noticed the sun was beginning to set. The sky was in a huge array of beautiful colors. She should be home before dark. As she made away from the busy town, and came towards the woodsy area that was the sign that she'd be home soon, she sighed happily.

The setting sun was creating beautiful golden sparkles on the forest around her. Especially on the trees that had just begun to change colors. It was an amazing sight to see. And, to think, it would be that way for the next couple months. Tohru pulled her sweater a little tighter as a cool wind blew through.

"Oh my," she whispered. "It's getting cooler."

Suddenly, she heard a twig snap. She turned towards the sound, but saw nothing. She figured that it was just a rabbit, or something of that nature. She then began to walk again, without a care. Then, she heard another twig snap and a brush of leaves. She also heard two small whispers.

"Hello?" Tohru said, heart beginning to race. She turned, looking for what was making the sounds. She found that they were coming from a bush nearby. Then, she turned to run away. But a few seconds after, she heard a pair of running feet behind her. She tripped over a tree root, and her purse and shopping bags went flying. She looked back and realized that her foot was caught. She panicked, as the footsteps came faster. She didn't dare look back. She focused on pulling herself out. She finally pulled out, but then she felt a pair of strong hands pull her back.

--

It was cold. And dark. She could see nothing except for a little moonlight peeking through the trees. She desperately wanted to get her sweater so that she could at least keep a little warm. But her wrist was twisted, and her leg possibly broken. She had tried to move, but every large move she made hurt her. She couldn't even call out for help. She moaned in pain as almost every part of her body ached, or burned.

_How could this have happened to me?_ She thought. Tears ran down her face. She was all alone, in pain, and scared. Other than her leg and arm, she had many bruises and scrapes all over. Her thighs felt warm and wet. _Where are you Kyo-kun? Anybody?_ She never expected this to happen to her. Not at all.

--

Kyo looked up at the clock. Where was she? It's was an hour past the time she said she'd be home. He checked his phone. No text messages, or missed calls. He balled up his fist. He knew something must have happened. She was rarely late; if she would be, she would have called. He stood up.

He walked into the kitchen where Yuki was. "She should have been here over an hour ago."

Yuki turned to him holding a rice ball. "She hasn't called?"

Kyo shook his head. "No. Not since she called me and said she was coming home.

"That's not like Tohru-san. Do you think she's okay?"

"I dunno. That's the problem. But I think that there is something wrong. Come with me. I'm going to look for her." Yuki nodded back

Kyo turned and went to a closet, and pulled a blanket out. He had a feeling he'd need it.

He picked up his phone and dialed her number. No answer.

"Yeah, I'm definitely going."

--

(Tohru's POV)

I don't know what to do. I don't know what to do. I'm in so much pain, I can barely move. I'm cold. I'm exhausted. I'm scared. I'm all alone. All I can hear is the rustling of leaves, and the wind.

I'm sure Kyo-kun is worried sick. What will he do…what will happen? Why did this happen? I feel the tears running down my face, and tell myself no. But, I can't stop! I can't stop crying. I can't. I feel as though I've been stolen from. Something deeply a part of me was ripped from me. It hurts so much. I had a gift that was meant for something entirely different. Not this. I had something to give. But you can't give a gift that has been trampled on…can you?

--

(Regular POV)

Kyo was running at top speed, with Yuki close behind. Suddenly, they spotted something on the path in front of them: shopping bags with the items strewn all over the place, and a purse. Kyo picked up the purse, and it looked exactly like Tohru's.

"She's gotta be here somewhere," he said, voice breaking. He knew now without a doubt that something had happened to her.

"Where could she be though?" Yuki asked, wide eyed.

"That's the question, isn't it?" Kyo said through gritted teeth. He punched the dirt in front of him.

Suddenly, a small groan was heard from nearby. They both looked up, and quickly went toward the sound. He clicked on his flashlight and went into the woods. They didn't have to go far. Kyo's light fell on Tohru's face and bare shoulders.

"Kyo-kun…" she whispered in tears. "I want to go home."

He stood frozen in shock. This couldn't be…did someone…?

He quickly then walked over, throwing the blanket over her. "I know. I'll take you home." Then he picked her up gently, knowing she was most likely injured. "Call for help. I'll take care of her."

Yuki nodded solemnly, and pulled out his phone.

Kyo then began to walk back toward the house, Tohru's tears soaking his shirt.

--

A/N: I almost started crying while writing this chapter. It was kind of hard to write this. But it's part of the overall story that is taking place inside of my head. Sara will make more appearances soon, starting in Chapter 5. Her entire purpose will start making more sense as the story will go on. I know that it seems odd and insane that she caused this to happen to Tohru. The whole thing is really sad. I'm not giving away any spoilers though.

Anyway, I'm currently at home. I would be at school, but I had a bug incident. Last December, I almost went into anaphylactic shock from a bee sting. But the night before last night, I find I have another kind of allergy. It wasn't as bad as the incident last December, but, bad enough. I was in bed sleeping, and I guess I moved my hand to go behind my head. Then, I felt a sharp pain in my pinkie; like two little teeth bit into me. It was enough to wake me up. I flung off whatever it was, and turned on my light. Sure enough, there were two little bite marks on my finger. I looked over the side of my bed to figure out what in the world bit me. I was worried that it was a dangerous spider of some sort, or a baby snake. I looked frantically, not seeing anything. I didn't have my contacts in, so, it made this task a little more difficult. Suddenly, I spied the culprit. It was pretty blurry, but, I could kind of see it. It looked like a centipede. Ugh. And, it was. Believe it or not, but I was bit by a centipede. My hand swelled up like a balloon, and my doctor prescribed some meds and I can't go back to school until Friday. For me it's always bug problems. I don't react well to bug bites or stings. It really stinks. But…the swelling in my hand has gone down enough that I can type. That's a good thing. Lol.

God Bless!

-Takara-star-chan


	5. Cut to the Heart

Calico

Calico

Chapter 5: Cut to the Heart

By Takara Star

I do not own Fruits Basket. All characters were created by Natsuki Takaya.

--

(Sara's POV)

I guess as the cat, things weren't so bad. I mean, I DID have two wonderful friends, Ruuka, and Chii. But one day comes back to my mind. One of the very best days, but yet also, one of the very worst. We were having our monthly shopping trip; and I had just spent my month's allowance on a beautiful blue kimono; and after we were done shopping, we went to play in the woods.

Even as teenagers, my friends and I loved to play hide-and-go-seek. We did this often, and today was just the same.

It was fall, so, I could blend in a little better with the foliage; but not just for hiding, but for sneaking up and finding my friends as well. I stood on a tree branch pretty high up, searching for my friends. I was graceful and quiet; such as a tiger watching and advancing their prey. I then spotted Ruuka's chocolatey brown hair, and her green kimono poking out from behind a rock. It was so little to be seen that any normal person probably wouldn't have noticed it. I then crouched, ready to spring from the branch. I then sprung from the branch, landing on the rock. I stuck it perfectly.

"Found you Ruuka!" I yelled as my feet hit the rock.

Ruuka shrieked, jumping backward, and bumping her head on the rock. "Sara-Chaaaaaaaaaaaaaaan!" She yelled. "You're crazy!" But then she sat up and laughed. "I should have seen that coming. You do it every time!"

I smiled back. "What can I say? The best way to look for you two is up in the trees! Now, let's find Chii-chan."

Chii was always the hardest to locate. She was so thin, tiny, and flexible, that she could fit almost anywhere. I daresay she could have gotten a good paying job as a contortionist in one of the European circuses that would pass through here every once in a while.

"I wonder where she could have hidden this time?" I muttered to myself.

Ruuka sighed. "She's probably stuffed herself into some kind of crack again."

I jumped back up into one of the trees again. It finally hit me in that moment that, here I was seventeen years old, going on eighteen, and I was still playing this. But, I didn't care. I was having fun, and my friends were having fun. That's all I cared about. I scanned my eyes over again, and caught a strand of black blowing from a thin hollow tree trunk. I jumped back down next to Ruuka.

"I think I've found her," I said with a smirk. Ruuka giggled, tiptoeing as softly as she could behind me. When we got to the tree trunk, I a finger up to let her know to be silent. I quietly knelt down in front of the hole in the log. I was amazed that she had stuffed herself inside of it. Her head was in front of mine, but she didn't seem to realize that I was there.

"Chii, I've found you, you can come out," I after a few moments of silence.

"Eh?" She looked at me, and then stuck her lip out. "Aw, I was hoping that you two would take a little longer to find me!" She wiggled her tiny body like a caterpillar from its cocoon. She stood up, and smiled. "Pretty cool, huh?"

"Chii-chan, one of these days you are going to seriously get yourself completely stuck," Ruuka said, shaking her head. "That tree trunk seems smaller than you!"

"There isn't anything that I haven't tried that I wasn't able to squeeze into," Chii said with a wink. "It's just a talent I have…like…Sara-chan's cat abilities!"

"I am a cat. I wouldn't exactly call it a talent. It just comes naturally. I didn't even have to try," I said, rolling my eyes.

"Yeah, well, so does my limber body."

"Touché," I said with a small laugh.

"Whatever," Ruuka said picking up her bags. "The sun is beginning to go down, and we should probably head home."

Chii and I just nodded, and picked up our bags as well. "I'll see you two tomorrow!"

"Bye Sara-chan," they both said in unison.

As soon as I got home, I got my Uncle's dinner cooked, and set it out for him. I lived with my uncle, but, we didn't converse much. I did my jobs that were cooking and cleaning, and he gave me a house and a room. After making dinner, I decided to go take a bath. We have a tiny hot spring in our back yard, so I grabbed a towel and headed that way.

My uncle had an obsession with women. He'd sneak out in the middle of the night, or even bring a woman home; and I'd see them leave through my window, counting money as they walked away. I just kept my distance. I'd never heard of him taking advantage of anyone, or hurting anyone, so, I felt safe.

But that night I was corrected.

I'm not sure if the door to the hot spring in our back yard was cracked only a little bit, or what. I only know that I had forgotten to lock it while I was in there. I heard it swing open, and I turned to see my uncle standing there. I thought maybe at first it was a mistake, and that he'd leave within a few seconds once some of the shock of walking in on me wore off. I studied his face though, he didn't seem shocked, or anything. He turned and closed the door behind him, and then came at me.

It was so terrifying. I was there trying to defend myself, and doing horribly at it. Quite a few times I transformed, and somehow managed to keep a good hold on where my beads were; and attempt to fight back at the same time. It was all useless though.

When it was over, he said nothing, and walked out. I laid there at the edge trembling and moaning in pain. I slowly sat up, and looked over myself. Blood was flowing from me into the spring, and my ankles were both swelling up. I had twisted them both. My hands were cut up, and scraped from fighting back so hard.

_He took advantage of me_, I kept repeating in my head over and over again. The words filled me from head to toe in such shock, I couldn't do anything except cry and stare at my torn up hands. I didn't move. I stayed there all night wondering why and how this happened to me. I was the cat of the zodiac. Most everyone had no respect for me, and I suffered because of it. I was merely a toy.

In the morning, when the sun was beginning to rise higher (probably around 9 am) I heard someone calling my name. It was Kasuke's voice. I heard the door to the hot spring open behind me.

"Sara! There-" His voice broke as he looked over at me. He ran back inside, and grabbed a large towel, and wrapped it around me. "What happened?"

I looked up at him, as I felt more tears burning my eyes. I opened my mouth to speak, but no words came out. He looked at my hands, and my feet, and various bruises that I had.

"Did your uncle do this to you?" His face became hard and his eyes began to burn with anger. He cursed under his breath. "Did he force himself on you?"

I nodded numbly, and looked away.

He cursed again, and looked at one of my hands. "I'm not allowing you to live here anymore. I won't allow it. You will have to decide to live with me, Ruuka-san, or Chii-san."

I nodded again, forcing out the words, "I never expected he'd do this to me." I began to tremble again, and cry. I didn't know what else to say, or do. He was right. I couldn't stay here. That was all there was to it. He then wrapped his arms around me, and kissed me. But of course a few seconds later, I transformed. He held me in his arms, and picked up my beads, and carried me up to my room. He laid me in my bed, and covered me with a blanket so that I could rest.

"I'm going for help," he told me. "You stay here and rest. I'll lock your door." There was no need for him to lock my door. My uncle was always at work and he never came home during the day; but I didn't argue. It would be ungrateful of me.

As the day went on, I was moved to Kasuke's house with his mother. She tended to me all day long, and took care of me. Chii and Ruuka came by as well to be of comfort. As for what my uncle had done to me, there really wasn't anything we could do. I was the cat. As far as most of the family saw it, I didn't matter much.

--

(Regular POV)

Kyo gently laid Tohru onto her bed; she was still wrapped in the blanket he had gotten for her. Then he turned and brought back a bowl of warm water and a wash cloth.

"Tohru, what happened?" He said softly. He had a good idea of what happened, but he wanted her to tell him what happened.

She squeezed her eyes tight; the haunting memory replaying over her more vividly. "I was coming home, Kyo-kun. It was sunset, and I thought I'd be home before dark. I-" Her throat tightened up, and the words became harder. "I was walking home, and I started feeling like I was being followed. When I realized that I was…I…I…ran. But I tripped, and got stuck in a tree root." Her eyes became wide with fear. "When I got up it was too late. And…"

She couldn't get the last words out. The thought of them made her pain somehow increase; mentally and physically. Kyo sat there, and he nodded. "I see. I think I have a good idea of what happened." His eyes looked away from her, glaring at the floor.

"How many were following you?"

Tohru swallowed hard. "Two. But only one…" her voice broke again.

"Shh," he shushed her gently, and touched her face. "You don't have to speak anymore for now." He pulled her arm towards him, and began to wash the scrapes and cuts all over it. And during, this, she drifted off into sleep.

When she finally awoke again, Kyo was still there, sitting in a chair next to her bed. But, also Hatori was there as well. "How are you feeling, Tohru-kun?"

"Horrible, Hatori-san," she said, starting to cry again. Kyo leaned closer and rested his head against hers and stroking her hair; doing anything he possibly could do at the moment to try and comfort her. He couldn't stand seeing her this upset. It was tearing him apart seeing her like this. He felt that her recovery was going to be long and difficult. But he decided that he'd stay with her as much as possible.

Hatori began to wrap Tohru's ankle and wrist in ACE bandages. "You will need to stay in bed for the next few days, Honda-kun."

"Is she awake, Haa-san?" Shigure's voice sounded from the doorway.

"Yes," Hatori replied, and set a bottle of medicine on the Tohru's dresser. "She's going to stay in bed the next few days and rest. I highly suggest that most of that time be spent with Kyo, though." He turned to Kyo, and sighed. "Come with me for a minute." He motioned for Kyo to come into the hallway. Shigure stayed behind to talk to Tohru.

"You know that these next few days will most likely be difficult, right?"

Kyo nodded. "Yeah. I kind of figured that."

Hatori stuffed his hands in his pockets. "During times like this, people who were the victims of traumatic events need the person closest to them more than anything. Even more so than medicine. My main suggestion for her is that _you_ stay with her as much as possible."

"Alright," Kyo said with a heavy sigh and a sad smile. "No problem." He felt tears beginning to come up. He quickly turned away trying to hide what he'd been trying to hold back for hours.

"It's okay to cry, you know," Hatori said turning away. "I probably will too." With that, he began to walk down the hallway.

"Hatori?" Kyo called.

"Yes?"

"Thank you for helping Tohru."

Hatori only nodded as he turned and walked down the stairs. Shigure came out of Tohru's room, and looked at him, then walked down the hallway as well. Kyo walked back into her room, and his eyes locked with hers. At that moment, they both began to tear up. He gently scooped her up and held her close, cradling her.

Tohru pressed her face into his shirt. "Kyo-kun…" she choked.

"It's going to be okay," he whispered. "I promise."

Sara stared in the window in horror. She couldn't believe she actually caused this to happen to her. Why did she make that deal? Why did she tell herself that she would do anything, _anything_ just to be with Kasuke? She was a fool. A sick fool. She floated herself to the roof and looked up at the sky.

"Are you happy?!" She screamed. "Are you happy Noraku?! I just ruined someone's life! I'm done with these stupid games! I'm NOT doing this anymore! Kyo and Tohru don't deserve this! They don't!" She fell to her knees in tears.

"I thought you said you'd do anything to cross over and be with Kasuke," a voice said. "But of course, you are pathetic. I knew you'd just give up. Although I am impressed that you went this far."

Sara looked up at the shinigami standing over her. "What do you want, Noraku?"

"I just came to see this failure for myself," his fire-red eyes danced as he chuckled. "I knew you couldn't last."

She stood up, and looked him straight in the eye. "I'm beginning to wonder if you're using me for your own sick little games."

"I'm beginning to wonder if you are smarter than you look," he said starting to glare maliciously at her.

She crossed her arms. "I think I am. I've been hearing rumors of a plot, as well."

Noraku's snow white skin seemed to have become whiter. "Wha-what are you talking about? How…? I thought it was kept under wraps…"

Sara held up a small piece of paper. "I found this shortly after I possessed Tohru's uncle. I think you dropped it. I'd be nervous if I were you."

His eyes suddenly turned orange in rage. He took the note, and then slapped her. "I think it is _you_ who should really be nervous. How dare you. It's not nice to be snooping around."

She touched her stinging face. Then turned to him again. "Oh, _please_, Noraku. It was a note in a tree. A mortal could have found it just as easily. And honestly I'm surprised you were dumb enough to leave that in a tree for anyone to get ahold of it. Wow. That's going to make this conspiracy go so well." She rolled her eyes in sarcasm.

Noraku began to shake with fury. Okay, it was a stupid idea. But now, someone knew. Knew about what was about to happen.

Sara knew what was about to happen to her. There was no escaping it. But maybe…maybe if Kyo and Tohru would somehow be willing to help her…

She quickly blew air out from her lungs that would carry into the house; and would carry a message. And suddenly, two other shinigami appeared behind Noraku. They seized Sara, and disappeared into the night.

Things were about to change from bad to worse.


	6. Anything I doI do It For You

Calico

Chapter 6:

By Takara Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

------

"It's going to be okay," Kyo whispered, cradling her. "I promise."

Tohru gripped his shirt tighter, and wept. "I…I don't understand…," she choked.

"What don't you understand?"

Tohru didn't say anything for the next few minutes. She continued to cry. Then she said, "I should have come back earlier. I shouldn't have stayed out so long."

Kyo grasped her chin and tilted her face up and looked her in the eyes. "What are you talking about? You started coming back long before dark!"

"But I didn't fight back hard enough! My best wasn't good enough, Kyo-kun. Now, I have nothing!" Tohru said, almost yelling. Then, realizing what she had said, her face went beet red, and she placed a hand over her mouth.

Kyo looked at her in surprise. "You have 'nothing'? What are you saying? You're not making much sense."

Tohru broke eye contact with him, looking at his shirt instead. "You know what happened, Kyo-kun. I'm worthless now. That man…whoever he was…took advantage of me. I have nothing. This isn't what I wanted. I wanted…I wanted…my first time…" She again choked on her words. Then, she sucked in a large gulp of air. "I wanted it to be…with…Kyo-kun." Her face became even redder as she said this. She couldn't even look at him, fearing what he may be thinking.

Kyo felt his face heat up; but he knew exactly what to tell her. "You know what I think? I think that this world's definition of 'innocence' is messed up."

Tohru finally looked up at him again in surprise. "What?"

"You didn't ask for this to happen. You didn't enjoy yourself, did you? No, you wouldn't be crying right now if you did. You knew what you wanted; and you didn't give yourself to him. It was one-sided. Sure, your eyes may be opened to some things, but, I don't think that changes who you are at a deeper level. It's our choices and actions that define who we are. If a girl did so completely willingly, then she's lost her innocence, because it was her choice. You didn't want this, plus you fought back," Kyo told her quietly.

Tohru felt such surprise rising up in herself. What he said made sense. A lot of sense. She reached up and touched his face. "So, you don't think I'm worthless?"

"What? No," Kyo scoffed. "Of course not." He touched the side of her face gently. "No."

With that, he leaned in and caught her lips with his.

Tohru felt a surge going through her from the top of her head to the soles of her feet. She closed her eyes, and began kissing him back. He had never kissed her like this before. This was different…deeper…more passionate. She pressed her lips in harder, and faster in motion, his following suit.

She felt his hand reach back and tightly grasp the back of her shirt. _Oh, my._ She thought in surprise. _I never expected him to kiss me like this._ She wondered briefly if they were getting a little in over their heads, but, she quickly forgot about that. His lips were so warm and soft. This was all very new for her, and different. A little awkward, too, but, hey; you don't dwell on that much in these situations.

"Kyo, Tohru-sa-" Kazuma became frozen in the doorway.

Kyo pulled back in surprise, Tohru doing the same. How awkward. The father/future father-in-law walking in while they were making out. Um, there are no words to describe how embarrassing that would be, is there?

"Um, I'm terribly sorry," Kazuma turned to walk back down the hallway.

Kyo put Tohru back down onto her bed, and rushed out after him. "W-wait, Shishou!"

Tohru sat up against her pillows; face red, eyes wide, face down. _Not good. Not good at all, _she thought worriedly. She rubbed her hands together nervously.

Kazuma turned to face Kyo. "No, Kyo, really. If you two are busy at the moment, I'll come by later."

"N-no, Shishou. Now is fine, really," Kyo replied, face beet red."We, just, uh…got in a little too over our heads. So, if you want to come talk to us…"

Kazuma sighed. "Well, to be honest, I'm not surprised. I knew sooner or later you two would be, um, kissing like that. I just didn't expect to walk in on it." He gave a small laugh. "No harm done, really."

Kyo felt relief wash over him. He was afraid he was going to be scolded. "Well, are you going to come speak with us, or not?"

Kazuma nodded, and followed Kyo back into Tohru's room. "Hello Tohru-san. I, um, I'm sorry about what happened earlier."

Tohru couldn't find it in her to look him in the eyes. "Er, I…uh…"

"If you're embarrassed by what happened, please don't be. It's okay," he said, sitting down next to her. He chuckled. "It happens sometimes. Just be sure to be a little more careful."

Tohru looked up slowly. "Y-yes, Shishou-san."

"How are you feeling?" He asked curiously.

"A little better," she replied, looking at Kyo sheepishly. Then she looked back at Kazuma. "But…it still…hurts…" she felt the tears began to come up again.

Kazuma looked back at Kyo sadly, then back at Tohru. "Yes. Things like this can be hard to get over. But, you'll be fine. Kyo is going to be by your side every step of the way. That's got to be some comfort to you, Tohru-san."

"Yes. It is. H-he was only trying to comfort me earlier. It…helped some," Tohru laughed nervously. "I'm really embarrassed though."

He shook his head and smiled. "I figured that's what he was trying to do."

------

When Kazuma left, Kyo sat down next to her. "I'm sorry. I probably shouldn't have kissed you like that. I just…well, there's a number of reasons why I did. You're probably upset with me."

"Why?" Tohru said, confusedly. "I'm not upset that you kissed me like that, Kyo-kun."

Kyo blushed. "I…just couldn't stand to see you so sad. I just…reacted. Plus…a part of me wanted to kiss you like that. It was mainly to comfort, but it was also for selfish reasons too."

Tohru tried to hold back a giggle. Didn't work.

"What?" He looked at her curiously. "What's so funny?"

Tohru felt a small smile come up on her face. "You're not going to believe what I just thought, Kyo-kun. I feel a little silly for thinking it."

Confusion spread across his face. "Um, what were you thinking?"

"I want to kiss you more, Kyo-kun," she said, smiling and blushing. "Is that weird?"

Kyo blushed, and a goofy look spread over his face. He wasn't smiling, but it was goofy nonetheless. "Well…um…I don't know…I-I don't think it is…" He was a little unsure how to respond to that. He sat down on the bed next to her. "If we ever do that again before our wedding, um, maybe we should shut the door…"

Tohru's eyes widened. "Eh? But what if other's get the wrong idea…"

"Oi!" Kyo slapped his forehead. "You're right. That's a stupid idea. Sorry. Let's just save it until our wedding. That's probably the best option. I don't want people getting the wrong idea about you."

"Okay, Kyo-kun. That's probably the best thing to do," Tohru replied with a nod. "I did like it a lot though."

Kyo smiled and cocked an eyebrow. "Huh. Me too."

Then, something caught his eye. He looked down at the small table next to the bed. A folded piece of paper. "What's this…?" He picked it up, and unfolded it.

"What is it, Kyo-kun?"

"This letter wasn't here just a minute ago. It seemed to appear out of nowhere," he said in surprise.

"What does it say?"

Kyo's eyes scanned over it, then started back at the top, reading it out loud.

_Dear Kyo and Tohru,_

_I know I have absolutely no right to ask for your help. It's foolish of me; especially for what I caused to happen. It was I, Sara Sohma, who caused you to almost to drown, and to get taken advantage of. I feel like a fool. I feel like a sick fool. I know that I probably can never to do enough to make it up to you. _

_But I don't know who else to turn to. _

_When I died, I never found out what happened to my lover, Kasuke. The day I died, we were supposed to run away together. But, some of the family found out, and while trying to run from them, I was murdered. I don't know if he was murdered, either._

_I loved Kasuke more than life itself. Which is why…I made a deal with the head of the Shinigami, Noraku. He told me that if I caused the most traumatic events in my life to happen to someone else, then they would tell me what happened to Kasuke, and then even arrange for me to see him again. But after caused Tohru to be raped, it hurt me as well. I couldn't do it anymore. I didn't want to. I couldn't believe that I had sunk so low. I also found out Noraku's true intentions. I was tricked._

_I recently found out that Noraku has banded with the demons, and has come up with a way to overthrow the High Angelicus Order. The ones that keep things balanced in our world. The Angels that keep things balanced in our world. Noraku needed the extra push. He tricked other spirits like me to do similar things such as I have done to you. That extra push makes him and the demons them stronger. Because it throws it off-balance._

_You may be finding that tensions are high in the countries of the earth. The Shinigamis have overthrown the High Angelicus Order. Noraku has what he wanted- Power. The Shinigamis and the demons have begun to really mess things up. The whole earth may break out completely into war. We need help up here. _

_Noraku has thrown the Angels and those who oppose him into the Dark zone. It's a horrible place. It's completely dark, you can't see or hear anyone else but yourself…and you feel as if you're constantly burning. I'm lucky that I'm only in prison. _

_We need help desperately up here. If you don't do it for me…do it for where you live. I…don't deserve your kindness. I know that. After what I did, I don't blame you at all if you don't forgive me. I don't at all. I don't know if I can forgive myself, either._

_If you decide to help us, recite this spell at the bottom of the page. Your spirits will leave your body, but, your body will remain alive, but asleep until you return back to earth. But be careful. It is nonetheless dangerous._

_-Sara Sohma_

_P.S. Here is the spell:_

_**Take me now, my soul to rise. Lift my spirit from this place until I shall return. Allow me the sight of those above, to achieve what needs to be done. **_

_I know, it's a really simple spell. But, that's how it's done._

Kyo and Tohru looked at eachother in surprise. They both didn't know how to feel, or what to say. They sat in silence for a few minutes. Then Tohru spoke up.

"I think we should do it," she said, staring at the letter.

Kyo looked at her in surprise. "I don't know, Tohru. What Sara did was awful. Who's to say that this isn't a trick?"

Tohru shook her head. "No. I don't believe that. Deep down, Kyo-kun, I really don't believe that this is a trick. I believe that she is telling us the truth."

He sighed. "Well, I guess we won't know until we try, will we?" He took her hand, and looked her in the eyes. "You really want to do this?"

"Yes. I really do."

He nodded, and then leaned in and kissed her. He pulled back, and looked at the letter again.

They both recited the spell. Then, almost instantly, they both fell over onto the bed, unconscious.

----

Tohru felt her hand rip from Kyo. She was spinning, faster and faster in darkness. Her whole self felt pull away from her other whole self; her breath being ripped from her. Then, she landed hard on a cold, tight surface. She opened her eyes, and found her self staring at a black ground. Her breath came back in short gasps. She weakly sat herself onto her knees.

All around her, was the cold, black ground; and above her, a purple, and black sky swirled above her. It was cold. Very cold. She shakily stood up on two feet. Since this was her spirit form, she could walk. Her spirit wasn't injured. She looked around. There was a cold wind, black shapes, and trees. And in the far distance, she saw on the horizon, a bright light.

Then, she whipped around. "Kyo-kun?" she called. "Kyo-kun?" She ran and looked around behind what looked like a rock, and then behind a dead, black, tree. "KYO-KUN!!!!" She yelled.

"WHERE ARE YOU?"

Then she felt a hand slip over her mouth.

"Shh!" The voice that belonged to the hand said. "You don't need to scream."

The hand was freezing cold. Chills fell down through her entire body. Then the hand fell down so that Tohru could talk. Tohru turned around sharply, and found herself facing a beautiful girl. Her skin was lavender colored, long black hair, and piercing yellow eyes. She had black wings.

"W-who are you?" Tohru gasped.

"My name is Ruuka. A Shinigami," the girl said. "Are you Tohru Honda?"

Tohru's eyes widened in fear. "Yes. B-but…please don't hurt me, Ruuka-san."

Ruuka looked taken aback. "What? I'm not going to hurt you. But, you should come with me, Tohru-san." She looked around warily. "Just come with me." She grasped Tohru's wrist and pulled her up into the dark sky, and flew a fast speed.

Tohru didn't have time to process it all. Ruuka had flown so fast that she ended up in front of a small house.

"Go inside," Ruuka commanded, pushing her through the door. Tohru did as she was told, and walked into the house. Ruuka came in after her.

There was a small fireplace, and a generally nice place. Like a house you might find on earth.

"I'm sorry for rushing you in here," she said with a sigh. "It's just not safe for you out there. If another Shinigami or Demon found you, you could have been in hot water." She went in and sat down at the table. "Want some tea?"

"Yes please," Tohru said, sitting down in front of her.

"I'm not like most of the other Shinigami," she said, pouring Tohru her tea. "It's ridiculous. Shinigami aren't meant to run anything other than bringing the dead to where they need to go. Noraku's an idiot. But, what I'm trying to say is…you don't need to be scared of me. I'm one of the Shinigami who is trying to fight back against Noraku."

Tohru picked up her teacup. "O-okay. Ruuka-san…I was wondering…how did you know my name?"

Ruuka smiled. "Oh…that. Sara is my best friend. She's told me about you. I was her best friend as a human, as well. Along with Chii. It was our group-Sara, Chii, Kasuke, and me," then she frowned. "I'm sorry for what she did to you. But…she was so desperate."

Tohru nodded. "I know. I understand that. Kyo-kun and I came here together after we recited a spell that Sara left for us, along with a letter. But, he disappeared. I forgive Sara-san though."

"Really?" Ruuka's eyes widened in surprise. "How?"

Tohru set down her cup of tea. "Because…when it comes down to it…No matter what…I'm just like Sara-san. I don't blame her for what she did to me. If I were in the same position, I'd do anything…I mean anything for the one who holds my heart. As much as it would hurt…if I had to resort to killing someone else…if it would help the one I love. If his life was in danger…I do anything for Kyo-kun. Even rip out my own heart."

----

A/N: I'm sure you are wondering what has happened to Kyo-kun. You'll find out next chapter. Oh, and I'm going to post a Christmas story soon…so keep your eyes peeled for it. And, I'm going to be writing a sequel for this story as well. Just thought I'd give you a heads up. I'm nowhere near done with this story, but, I will have you know that there will be a sequel though.

God Bless!

-Takara-Star


	7. Killing Me Softly

Calico

Chapter 7: Killing Me Softly

By Takara-Star-Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya. (Do I REALLY have to do this for EVERY chapter?)

----

Kyo groaned as he pushed him self up from the cold hard ground. That was some ride. He crashed through what felt like trees. He stared down at his arm, where there was a bloody gash.

He cursed under his breath. "I didn't think you could get hurt in the spirit realm," he whispered. He pulled his shirt over his head, and ripped it, and tied it around his arm. He shuddered as the icy cold wind touched his bare skin. Well, the bleeding needed to be stopped; and that took priority over the cold. Then, he stood up, looking around for Tohru.

"Tohru?" He called. "Tohru?" He felt a pang of fear rise up in him. Their hands had separated during the soul-from-body experience.

He found himself wandering around in the dense, dark woods that surrounded him. When he looked up, he saw what looked like a very peculiar sky. Purple and black swirls churned above.

Then he felt arms wrap around his shoulders.

"Hey, hotness," said the voice of a female.

He felt icy chills go through him. Whoever this was, she was even colder than the wind. "W-who are you?"

"The name's Yuna. I'm a shinigami. You look simply _scrumptious_," she said seductively. She leaned forward and gently nibbled his ear.

Kyo jumped forward away from her, freaked out. "P-please don't do that. I'm engaged, for crying out loud." He got a good look at her. Her skin was a pale, pale ivory, and her eyes were blood red, and lustful. Her curves were very graceful.

"Oh, Yuna, leave the boy alone," said another female voice. "You don't have to try to seduce every hot guy in sight, do you?" The other shinigami dropped herself in front of Kyo. "I'm sorry. My friend is kind of…how should I put it…desperate? My name is Chii." She reached down her hand to help him up. He stared at her unsuredly. She laughed. "I know. We're cold-skinned. But it won't bite."

She helped him up, and said, "You shouldn't be here you know. You should consider yourself lucky you ran into _us_ instead of some of the crazy ones."

"Crazy ones?" he looked back at the one called Yuna as if to say, 'and she ISN'T crazy?'.

"She means, the head the Shinigami, Noraku; the Shinigami that he's tricked, and the demons," Yuna said rolling her eyes. "And I am not desperate, Yuna. I just can't figure out why no guy wants me."

"Yeah," Chii said sarcastically. "Who knows why…?"

"Anyway," Kyo said, trying to change to the subject. "I need to find Tohru. My fiancée."

"We certainately haven't seen her," Yuna said with a sigh. "We just saw you fall through the trees. Then we followed you."

"Yeah," Chii said, getting a curious look on her face. "How did you get here, anyway?"

Kyo sighed. "Well, I found this letter from someone named Sara-"

"Whoa. Hold up," said Chii, a realization dawning over her. "Sara?" She took a good look at his hair, and eyes. "My best friend's name is Sara. She was just put into prison by Noraku. You're a cat, aren't you?"

"I used to be," he said with a shrug. "The curse has been broken."

"Are you serious?" Chii looked at him in surprise. "Wow. I can't believe it." She paced around for a minute, thinking. Then she stopped and said, "Did it break on its own?"

"Yeah. But I wasn't the first though. First it was the bird, then the sheep, then the rabbit. Then, one day…" his thoughts went back to that day. That amazing day. He got to see Tohru for the first time in two weeks since she had gotten out of the hospital. He finally told her that he loved her. He got to kiss her (again). He got to hold her…without transforming. That was the most amazing feeling. Being able to hold her close without transforming. That had to be the best part. "The rest of us just got freed."

"I see," Chii said, looking down at the ground. Then suddenly, her sharp hearing ears caught something. She looked up, and then back at Kyo. "Don't ask any questions. Get on my back."

"Huh?"

"Shut up, and just do what I say!"

Kyo swallowed hard, and just climbed on her back. Suddenly, Chii threw herself into the air at a outrageously high speed. The branches they crashed through didn't even hurt them. Kyo looked back, and saw Yuna flying right behind them.

"Fly faster, Yuna!" Chii yelled.

"I'm trying!" Yuna yelled back.

"She's a new shinigami," Chii said to Kyo. "She's not a fast flyer yet. But she's improving everyday. She's close to being able to fly faster than a jet."

"What's going on?" Kyo asked frantically.

"A demon spotted us. I know you probably can't see it, and, I can't either. But it's there. They're dangerous. Even more so than us," she said, flying through thick black clouds. "The one that spotted us is a pleasure demon. One of the most deadly of all. It can lure you in with the things you desire most…then BAM! It has you. Because of some of the spirits on earth are being used by the shinigami, the balance of course, has been thrown off. Then, that makes easy access for tons of demons to push their way in to the world and cause total destruction."

Yuna finally pushed her way to fly next to Chii. "Sorry I'm so slow. I finally caught up though."

"Good," Chii said focusing on her flying. Then, something up ahead seemed to be blocking the way.

"What is that?" Kyo said, eyes widening.

"Oh no," Yuna gasped. "It's the Shinigami soldiers."

"Uh-oh. We're in trouble," Chii said angrily. "Kyo, hang on tight. I'm about to start flying at the speed of sound."

Suddenly, Chii dove downward speeding up so fast that Kyo felt like he was going to be sick. He couldn't see anything around him. This was the worst case of Nausea he ever felt. The wind around him felt as if it were going to tear him apart. He screamed as the force of going the speed of sound popped his leg out of socket.

"Yikes!" Chii looked back to see Kyo screaming.

From the excruciating pain, Kyo passed out, letting go of Chii. He fell from her back, and began to free fall towards the ground, gaining speed higher than the speed of sound itself.

Chii dove down to try and catch him, but he was gaining speed faster than she could fly. Suddenly, she was surrounded by a horde of demons, and Shinigami soldiers. They attacked her, and bound her. She looked off nearby, and saw Yuna bound as well. She then stared down at Kyo falling, and a tear fell. She couldn't get away now. In this world, if a human came, and fell from this height, there was no telling what could happen. Some died, some didn't. There was a 50/50 chance.

"Just let him fall," said Kirya, a demon. "He's worthless anyway."

"Not necessarily," said Argen, the Shinigami general. "Noraku may have a little fun with him. Kishi?"

A pretty little shinigami soldier turned to face him. "Yes sir?"

"Go get that boy."

Kishi nodded and dove down toward the dark ground beneath them.

----

"Tohru-san? Kyo?" Yuki called, walking into Tohru's room. He looked over at them, laying on her bed. "Tohru-san?" He walked over and tried to shake her awake. She didn't budge. He did it again. She still didn't budge. But she was still breathing. Kyo too.

Something wasn't right though. He looked down, and saw a gash on Kyo's arm. _When and how could he have gotten THAT?_ He asked himself. He then found the letter gripped in Kyo's hand. He peeled his fingers from it, and began to read it.

"No way," he said to himself. He looked over at them, still seemingly asleep. "They're in the spirit world?"

"What was that?" Shigure said, walking into the room. "Are they okay?"

Yuki handed Shigure the letter. "Here, read this."

Shigure stood and read it. When he was done, he looked at Yuki in shock. "You can't possibly be serious!"

"They won't wake up," Yuki said shaking his head. "They're still breathing. I honestly don't know what else it could be."

"Should we go after them?" Shigure asked, staring at the letter.

"No," Yuki said, shaking his head again. "You need to stay here. I'm going to go get Machi, Haru, Hana Jima-san and Uotani-san. We're going after them."

"Why shouldn't I go?" Shigure said, cocking an eyebrow.

"Because, Shigure. We need you to stay behind to tell people, 'no visitors.' We can't have everyone finding out what's going on. Besides, I think that the letter is true."

"What's another thing that makes you think it's true?"

"On the news this morning…it seems that a huge war is breaking out. China has just declared war on the United States, and many of the other countries are ganged up with the U.S. to fight back. That's not good. We're right in the middle of it. Hopefully, if things can be fixed up there, maybe all of this will end."

"Sounds like a plan," Shigure said with a nod. "Okay. Do what you need to."

Yuki nodded, running downstairs to make the phone calls.

----

Kyo opened his eyes with a groan. He was laying on what felt like a freezing cold stone floor. He sat up, the memories flooding back to him. He reached down where his leg had come out of place. It was back in place.

"Oh, good. You're awake," said a voice in the cell next to him. He looked over at a girl with orange, black and white hair, and amber eyes. She was wearing juzu beads. She reached over and held out her hand. "You're Kyo."

Kyo nodded. "Yeah. You must be Sara."

A pained look appeared on her face. "Afraid so."

"She forgives you," he said looking down at the stone floor. "Tohru does. I…do too. It must have been hard on you."

Sara placed her hands over her eyes and began to cry. "There's not a day that goes by that I cry my eyes out. I'm such a sick, cruel person. You may have forgiven me, but, I don't know if I could ever forgive myself. I just can't believe I hurt you both like that. Nothing is worth that. Nothing is worth putting others through so much pain for your own selfishness!"

Kyo reached over, and placed his hand on top her head. "I'm just like you. I did so many things that I regret…still to this day. I'm the reason Tohru's mother died…the reason my own mother killed herself…people will always have regrets for something. But…forgiving yourself is the hardest part. Selfishness consumed me. So much that…I ended up hurting the one I loved most," he swallowed hard as he remembered the shocked and hurt look on Tohru's face when he had called her delusional; after she told him that she still loved him. Even after what he did to her mother. "But…Tohru forgave me anyway. I don't deserve that forgiveness. I realize that everyday when I wake up. But I'm still able to find happiness because I know I'm forgiven. And in time…I've forgiven myself. When you find that someone forgives you, over time, it becomes easier to forgive yourself."

Sara trembled. "It's so hard though."

"Sara, don't cry," Chii said, coming up behind her. "It'll be alright, you see."

"I hope so."

-----

(two days later)

Tohru sat and cried, staring into the fire. "Kyo-kun…"

She desperately wanted to know where he was. She hadn't heard any news whatsoever. Ruuka left her house everyday for five hours listening for some news. But, she hadn't heard any yet.

Then, Ruuka came into the house. "Tohru…I've got some news…and some people with me."

One by one, behind her, came in Yuki, Haru, Uo-chan, Hana-chan, and Machi.

"Oh my goodness!" Tohru exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

"We decided to come after you, Tohru-kun," Saki said. "You and Kyo-kun need help."

"I found your letter," Yuki said with a nod. "So, we came."

Haru's eyes scanned the room. "Where is Kyo?"

Tohru's face fell at the mention of Kyo. "I don't know."

"Hold on there," said Ruuka shushing everyone. "I have some news about Kyo."

"Really?" Tohru's eyes lit up.

Ruuka nodded. "I found out through one of my friends that Kyo has been thrown into the prison. Along with my friend…Chii. And the new trainee shinigami, Yuna." Her face fell. "Apparently, Kyo almost died."

Tohru's mouth fell open. "Is he okay, then?"

"Better there in prison," Ruuka said. "At least he's not in the dark zone."

----


	8. Something Worth Fighting For

Calico

Chapter 8: Something Worth Fighting For

By Takara-star-chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

----

"Hold on there," said Ruuka shushing everyone. "I have some news about Kyo."

"Really?" Tohru's eyes lit up.

Ruuka nodded. "I found out through one of my friends that Kyo has been thrown into the prison. Along with my friend…Chii. And the new trainee shinigami, Yuna." Her face fell. "Apparently, Kyo almost died."

Tohru's mouth fell open. "Is he okay, then?"

"I'm not sure how to answer that," Ruuka said, shaking her head. "Ever since Noraku came into power, the prison has been used as a place to torture its residents. Also, it's a waiting place for those going into the Dark Zone. Most of the Angelicus Order has been thrown in there already; as well as those who try to fight back."

Tohru's body filled with shock. "Torture?" she squeaked.

"Yes," Ruuka said sadly. "There's a very good chance he's being tortured."

Tohru suddenly felt sick to her stomach. The word repeated over and over in her mind. Tears began to come out and pour down her face. She couldn't imagine or fathom it. "Kyo-kun…" she fell to her knees and hit her fists on the floor in front of her.

Saki and Arisa rushed over to her. They wrapped their arms around her to be some sort of comfort…they knew that Kyo meant so much to her. So much so that he was a part of her. It made them hurt seeing her like this. There were no words that they could say to be of comfort to her. None.

Tohru felt something rising up in her. A strong emotion she never felt before. It started through her chest, then spread through her body. It became so strong that she began to tremble. She wanted to scream. _Rage._

_How could anyone want to do that to Kyo-Kun? Or anyone else for that matter?_ She began to cry loudly; her tears gushing out. Her teeth clenched, her fingers digging into the floor in front of her. They began to bleed. She'd never felt this hurt or angry before. She'd hardly even felt angry before. Yeah, there was the one time when she was full of mixed feelings when she finally told Kyo that she loved him…and one of those feelings was irritation; because she couldn't understand why Kyo couldn't just accept it. But, now…now she felt pure, deep _rage._

She slowly stood up, and turned towards the fire. She clenched her bleeding fingers, still trembling all over. Staring into the flames, she opened her mouth to speak. "This…isn't right. They can't just treat people like this. Kyo-kun shouldn't have to suffer like this." She wanted to fight. She wanted to fight for him. He would have done the same for her. "I want to fight this." She turned toward them, her eyes filled with anguish.

They all looked at her in surprise. Then, nods of agreement came from everyone.

Machi was the first to speak up. She turned to Ruuka. "You said your name is Ruuka, right?"

"Yes," she replied.

"Ruuka-san…tell me…where is this prison?"

"Right next to the castle that used to belong to the Angels. Why?"

"Has anyone tried to fight back?"

"We're working on it," Ruuka said solemnly. "But guess it should be sooner than later. I'm guessing you all want to fight back."

"Yes," Tohru said with a nod. "If it will get Kyo back and set things right again."

Saki stood up. "Yes. It would be nice to have things back in order again."

"Especially with all the war breaking out on earth," Yuki said, with a sigh. "Our country is in the middle of it. If the balance could go back, then maybe things will calm down.

"Okay then," Ruuka said walking toward the door. "I will go gather an army. We attack the castle and prison in three days. You all wait here for now. There's food in here, you just need to find it." With that, she walked out the door, and shut it.

-----

Kyo sat against the wall in his cell thinking about Tohru. What was going to happen now? The wedding was within a week. How long would it take for them to get out of this mess?

Then, everyone looked up as footsteps came down the hallway. A shinigami came and stood in front of Kyo's cell. He shinigami gave a friendly smile.

"Well…hello. You must be the earth boy my general brought in for me. Kyo, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" Kyo said, looking at the guy suspiciously.

"I'm Noraku. I'm sure you've heard all about me by now," Noraku said, pulling out some keys.

Kyo glared maliciously at him. "You bet I have."

"What's with that look? You should be thanking me that I didn't throw you into the dark zone," Noraku laughed. He pushed one of the keys into the cell's key hole.

"Where's Tohru?" Kyo asked hatefully.

Noraku opened the cell door. "I honestly don't have any idea. She's somewhere here in the shinigami realm…but, I believe someone is hiding her."

Sara gripped the bars on her cell. "What are you going to do with him?" she hissed.

"What's it to you? Now be quiet, or you'll be leaving sooner than later." Noraku walked into the cell and looked Kyo in the eyes. "I'm going to take you somewhere right quick." He then pulled Kyo out of the cell.

Noraku and two of his guards led him out down the hall, and to a large room. The guards tied his wrists to some ropes hanging from the ceiling.

"Okay, Kyo. Now you must tell me; Why are you here?"

"Why else?" Kyo's face twisted into a snarl. "Because we were told that help was needed against you!"

The guards brought down hard clubs against his back.

"Look you!" Noraku said, his long fingers gripping hard around Kyo's neck. Kyo began to choke. "I could kill you if I wanted to. I would HIGHLY suggest you show me the proper respect."

As he struggled to breathe, Kyo's eyes began to roll back into his head. He felt as if his head was going to explode. He then passed out. Noraku released his grip, and waited for Kyo to awaken again.

His eyes slowly came open, and his breathing fast and heavy.

"Now…it's time to have a little fun," Noraku said, grinning at his guards.

Then, a few seconds later, a scream of excruciating pain escaped Kyo's lungs.

-----

Tohru and everyone walked out from the house and the cold wind whipped against their faces. Ruuka stood in front of the large group that stared back at her. She opened her mouth to speak.

"All of here today gather for one reason or another," Ruuka said, her eyes bouncing from one person to another. "But I speak for everyone here that what is unfolding before us has to be stopped. We all have friends either locked away or in the dark zone. But…I really feel that we can win. There is a prophecy of such a time such as this. Then, someone of purest innocence in the world comes to us to save this world and the world they live in. I believe that this time is now. I believe that person is in this group. As to who, I'm not exactly certain. All I know is that this time is what the prophecy was talking about. The one of purest innocence can free the innocent ones from the dark zone; including the High Angelicus Order," she paused, and looked at everyone seriously.

"I'm glad to see that there are more people on our side that I originally thought. With our numbers, we have an even higher chance of defeating this. Everyone…the time has come to take back what doesn't belong to them! I believe we can all agree that the rule of both worlds should go back to the Angels once and for all!"

Cheers rose up all over the crowd. Ruuka raised her sword toward the sky, and shouted, "You're going down Noraku!"

She blasted herself off into the sky, the other shinigami following suit. The sky was soon filled with thousands of them. Tohru and her friends were being carried off with them.

Tohru stared ahead in determination. "I'm coming Kyo-kun," she whispered, a tear falling.

-----

Shigure stared out the window in worry. Tensions were increasing by the minute outside. If one climbed to the roof they could see people fleeing their homes in the town nearby.

The people of Japan had two days to leave their home before the Chinese army invaded the country. The government already gave in, allowing people who wanted to leave, to leave in peace.

Shigure was staying put. He held on to the hope that Tohru and the others would stop this. He trudged out of the house and sat on the porch. He closed his eyes and fisted his hands. There was only one day left.

"Shigure-nii?"

He looked up to see Isuzu walking toward him. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm here wondering where Haru is," she said worriedly. "Have you seen him?"

"Yes, actually, I have."

"Where is he then?" She asked sadly.

Shigure sighed. "This is going to be an interesting explanation to give you. You may want to sit down."

Isuzu sat herself down on the porch and hugged her knees to her chest. "So, are you going to tell me, or what?"

Shigure pulled the letter from Sara from his sleeve, and handed it to her. She opened it, and her eyes scanned over the page. As she read her eyes widened, and her mouth fell open.

"Wha-what?!" She exclaimed, slamming the letter down on the porch. She stood up and looked at him. "You mean to tell me that all of this…this happening right now…is because of some power-hungry Shinigami?!"

"Yes, I'm afraid it is, Rin."

"And now you're going to tell me that Haru went too? Who else went?"

Shigure paused in thought. "Tohru, Kyo, Yuki, Machi, Arisa, and Saki. Tohru and Kyo were the first ones to go. Then, Yuki found the letter and called the rest of them. He said he was going to call you, but, Haru insisted that you stay here."

Isuzu screamed, then, slammed her fist on the porch. She fell to her knees crying. "S-so he left me here while the communist power house of the world decides to take us over?!"

"That's a pretty harsh way of putting it. They didn't even know at the time that China would decide to do that to us. You know that it was only announced to us yesterday. I just hope that things get taken care of in time," Shigure said shaking his head. "Which is why I'm staying, instead of evacuating to the United States like everyone else is doing."

"You know that Akito is leaving, right, Shigure-Nii? She's leaving in the morning."

"I know," he said sadly. "But I have to stay here."

-----

A/N: So scary! What to do, what to do! While Tohru and everyone else go into battle in the spirit world, the ones left behind have their own battle to deal with! The fact that China is trying to take over everything…ouch. That's a scary thought. But…it plays up the drama!

I know it's been a while since I posted this; but I've just been so busy. Being a Senior in high school takes up a lot of your time (As I'm sure a lot of you know). Well, I've been coming up with more fan fic ideas, and I'm still doing a sequel to _Calico._ And I'm proud to announce the title of the sequel: _Marmalade._ Well…it works, right? Another story that I'll be posting soon is a comedy. In this story, each chapter will have a character's dislike of something taken to the point of full blown hatred. Er…or something like that. Lots of crazy things happen to the characters when they come in contact with their dislike. I still am trying to come up with a title…so, keep watching!

-Takara-star-chan.


	9. Love is Not a Fight

Calico

Chapter 9: Love is Not a Fight

By: Takara-Star-Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

A/N: I want to apologize for some of the controversial themes in the last chapter; such as communist China and what not. I meant no offense to anyone. I do not wish to forcefully display my political beliefs in my fan fictions (although, sometimes I do subtly). But I do not wish to be forceful, or to write anything offensive. I am terribly sorry if I offended anyone. That was not my intention. I only wrote what I did for plot advancement. So, if I offended anyone of Chinese descent, I deeply apologize for that. I meant no insult to anyone.

-----

Kyo's body became weaker and weaker. He couldn't remember ever feeling so bad. He'd never been physically tortured before. It was one thing he never imagined would happen to him. How could anyone be so cruel? So twisted as to treat people so horrifically? The things that were done to him, he didn't realize anyone was capable of such wickedness.

When it was over with, he was dragged back to his cell. He couldn't walk. The guards literally tossed him like a rag doll. He hit the wall, and collapsed to the floor.

Noraku slammed the barred door shut, and locked it. "I had fun, Kyo. I hope you enjoy your stay here as well." With that, he walked off, his guards following close behind.

When they were gone, Sara rushed to the other side of her cell, and fell to her knees. "Kyo! Kyo talk to me! What did they do to you?!"

Kyo weakly lifted up his head, and stared at her. He forced himself to sit up. But as he did, vomit rose from his stomach onto the floor of his cell. Then, he fell back to the floor again.

Chii came to stand behind Sara, and threw her hand over her mouth. "Oh no."

"Stay with me Kyo! Please stay with me! Stay strong! You need to stay strong so you can see Tohru again!" Sara cried. "Please talk to me!"

His whole body trembled furiously. He moaned in pain as he tried to sit up again. It was worthless though. His body was too weak. Every movement was hurting him. "Tohru…" he whispered softly.

"Kyo…just lay down. Just try to keep making noise; just so we know you're still with us," Chii said, a tear falling. "Just don't lose the will to live. Please don't."

Chii and Sara had been in the prison long enough to know that many of the human prisoners that were tortured here, died.

Kyo then began to cry. A loud wail escaped his lungs. He was afraid. He was now afraid that he would die. He didn't want to. He had everything to live for. He had Tohru; the love of his life. If he died now, what would happen to her? What would that do to her?

------

The shinigami that was carrying Tohru set her down gently. Tohru pulled out the long sword from it's sheath. She stared at her reflection in the metal, and swallowed hard. Her sad eyes stared back, tears falling. This was so…wrong…yet…so…right. She didn't want to fight…but…deep down, she knew she had to. This reason was justified. The good out weighed the bad in this situation.

"You okay, Tohru?" Arisa asked, grasping Tohru's shoulder.

Tohru balled up her fist, and squeezed her eyes shut. "I don't know. This is so…horrible. So…sad."

"It is," Saki said, staring up at the swirling sky, then at the tall castle. "It breaks my heart to know what is taking place right now."

Ruuka walked over to where Tohru was standing. "You see that swirling vortex over there?"

"Yes," said Tohru with a nod. She looked to the place that was swirling above the castle. It was like a black hole with blue lightning flashing from it.

"That's the entrance to the Dark Zone. Once we free all of the people in the prison, we can fight the guards and Noraku. Then, we can work on freeing the innocent in the Dark Zone," Ruuka said staring ahead with determination.

"Okay," Tohru said with a nod. She stared at the black hole-like vortex above the castle. It was so…ominous and frightening It _was_ scary; but what was inside was more frightening. She was sure of it.

Ruuka stood up in front of the crowd. "When the signal is given, we invade the castle." She pointed to the first group to her left. "Group one…go to the north side of the castle. Group two, the south side; group three, the west side; and group four, the east side." Everyone quickly and quietly departed to their stations. The ones left behind, Tohru and her friends, Ruuka, and one hundred other shinigami waited in front of the castle.

Ruuka turned to a male shinigami, Kora, and nodded. "You know what to do, right? Fly around the castle, and make faces in the window at the people inside. When we've got the people inside thinking there is a lunatic shinigami outside, some guards will come outside to try to run you off. When I see some guards to come out to get you, I'll sound the alarm."

Kora smiled and laughed. "Yes." He then shut off toward the first floor windows of the castle, making goofy faces into each of them.

"Um…," Yuki said in curiosity. "Why are you making him do that?"

Ruuka sighed. "Because this will distract the people in the castle from spotting us. They'll be so annoyed and unprepared, that this may give us an advantage. They were originally not expecting an attack. But if someone had spotted us, then they do have protocol that they follow that only works if we had been spotted. You know, that gives them a few minutes to react. But, this doesn't. We could have just done an attack right away, but…I mean, they wouldn't have been distracted. It will be somewhat easier if we distract them first. And I thought I'd have a little fun with the distraction. I mean, really…Why be so serious?" She laughed heartily.

"Sounds good to me," Arisa said, smiling. "I guess it is good to keep us in partially good spirits before we attack."

Tohru wasn't smiling. She couldn't. She couldn't knowing that Kyo was in there, and possibly in pain. She couldn't laugh right now.

She looked up to watch Kora in his antics. He was already at the middle section of windows gleefully teasing the people inside. Ruuka looked on with her sharp eyes. She was able to see every expression. Every scowl of irritation of the people in the castle.

It was working.

Then, just like Ruuka had said, some guards flew out of the castle up to where Kora was.

When Kora saw them, he smirked. "If you want me, you'll have to catch me!" Then zoomed off around the castle like a determined fly.

The guards groaned in irriatation, then took off after him.

Then Ruuka screeched a high pitched sound, picked up Tohru, and sped off toward the castle. Other shinigami did the same.

It was an incredible sight. Thousands of shinigami rose from their hiding spots from every side of the castle. Their numbers overwhelming the castle. Many of them burst through the windows at high speeds, shattering glass everywhere.

The ones in the castle didn't know what hit them.

Tohru, Arisa, Saki, Yuki, Haru, and Machi ran furiously into the castle. Tohru wasn't fighting any of them. Only running with all her might to find Kyo. The rest of them were beating the living daylights out of the demons and shinigami.

-----

Shigure opened the door to Akito's room. Her back was to him, and she was packing.

"So…you are leaving, Akito?"

She turned to face him. Her eyes were red and puffy. She had been crying. "Shigure!" She jumped up and ran to him, embracing him. "Please tell me that you're coming with me!"

Shigure wrapped his arms around her, and said nothing for a few minutes. Then he said, "I have to stay here."

Akito looked up at him in surprise. "What? Why? Why aren't you coming with me? Don't you know what's going to happen in just a matter of hours?"

"Yes. Of course I know," he said sadly. "I just have to stay here. I want to go with you. But I need to stay here."

"Why?! What reason is so important that you can't come with me? The U.S. is the safest place to be right now! Once the Chinese get here, you won't be able to get out, nor will we ever see eachother again!" Akito yelled furiously.

Shigure explained the entire situation. "I have to stay here because I have hope that…that Tohru and everyone else can stop this. Even if my hope is useless. I have it."

Akito nodded, and looked him in the eye. "Then if that's the case…then I'm staying with you."

"No," Shigure said gently, yet firmly. "You have to go. Even though I have hope that they may be able to stop this…I know that there is also the chance that they won't. I want you to stay safe." He pulled her into his arms again.

"I don't care where I am," Akito said, crying. "Losing you would be too much. I always thought that…wherever I was…you'd be close behind. I don't want to live life without you."

Shigure sighed sadly. "Me too. I love you, Akito. And because I love you, I want you to be safe. If that means that I might not be able to see you again…then…that's what will happen. There's no telling what will happen once they invade. I just know that…I want to you to be as safe as possible and live a long, full, life."

"I don't want to live my life without you. How can I live a full life when the person that takes up practically my whole being is where I can't see them? We won't be able to communicate. I won't know if you're dead, injured or alive. I don't want to be without you!" Akito sobbed desperately. "You understand me better than anyone. Even when I used to be so cruel to you, you never stopped coming to see me. You never stopped talking to me. Even when you said something I didn't like, and that hurt my feelings. Even though I knew that everything you said was true. Even though you had that 'bond' with me…you never treated me like the others. Our bond was always different than the other zodiac members. And…if I don't have that with you…then…I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself, Shigure. I love you so much I can't stand it. I don't want to be where you aren't."

He held her trembling body tighter. "Me neither. But your life and your safety is so important to me. You understand that, don't you?"

Akito then said, "Well, if I have to go…then you won't have any objection to loving you for a while, will you?" She then leaned in and kissed him. Shigure kissed her back, and pushed her up against the wall. They stood there, kissing for a long time.

He finally pulled back and said, "You should get packing. I don't want to waste any of your time. The quicker you can leave, the more I can feel that you're safe."

But Akito wouldn't have any of that. She kissed him again, and then pulled away saying, "That's not exactly what I had in mind when I said I wanted to love you a little while longer."

----

Tohru ran through the castle, sword in hand, looking for Kyo. She didn't have to fight anyone. She just had the sword for self-defense; and surprisingly, she didn't need it yet.

That is until she burst through the doors of one very large chamber. She stepped in, and stared at the very high ceiling. The room was larger than a worship hall in a grand cathedral…like Notre Dame or some other church like that.

"Kyo-kun?" she called in desperation. "Kyo-kun! Answer me!"

Kyo's voice did not answer back. Someone else's did though.

"Well well well," said the voice with a chuckle. "You're Kyo's little girlfriend aren't you?" A beautiful male shinigami dropped down in front of her. He reached up and brushed his fingers across her cheek, and smiled thoughtfully. "Hmm…you look so average…yet…there's something so endearing about you. Something…very adorable." He began to walk around her, studying her from head to toe. "I had a girlfriend a lot like you when I was human. Oh, she was the cutest thing. She had an amazing smile, large brown eyes, long brown hair…just like you. She was clumsy, sweet, thoughtful, giving…but also very stubborn. I've heard that you are exactly like her. There is one difference between the two of you, though." He paused, standing in front of her. "She may have been stubborn…but she always gave up at some point…unless she got what she wanted. You don't give up at all, do you?"

Tohru stared at him, eyes wide from surprise. "You're Noraku-san, aren't you?"

"You're smarter than I thought," he said with a small laugh. "Too bad your little journey ends here." He raised his fist to her and punched her across the room. She hit the wall with a loud thud.

She slowly stood up on both feet. Her eyes to the ground. "Why are you doing this, Noraku-san? You throw some of the angels into the Dark Zone…and cause chaos down on earth. Many of the shinigami are unhappy. Why do you wish to make everyone unhappy?"

"This isn't about happiness, you wretched little girl," he said smiling thoughtfully. "For thousands of years, we shinigami have been placed on the back burner for so long. We are so unappreciated for what we do. We work so hard bringing the souls from the disgusting dead bodies on earth. We have to clean those souls, we have to help those decide what they want to do. If they decide to be Shinigami, they can work themselves up to the angelic level. Shinigami are essentially people trying to become angels. They work themselves up through the ranks. I'm the highest ranking Shinigami. So therefore, I have utmost superiority over the shinigami. But in the last one hundred years, only two Shinigami have become angels, and have surpassed me. I stay stuck at this level. It's stupid to think that after all the work I do, I haven't become one yet. And, one of those two Angels became the head angel. We've never had an angel reach a level high enough to be the head angel. I'm stuck here. Then I decided to find others who agreed with me-including the majority of the demons-and we overthrew the Angelicus Order."

Tohru stood in thought for a moment then said, "Maybe the reason you haven't become an angel is because your heart isn't pure enough. As far as I know, angels have pure, unselfish hearts, for the most part. I'm only guessing though."

"Why don't you shut up and stop speaking of things you know nothing of?" He hit her again. "Foolish little girls have no place reprimanding me. Besides why are you even bothering to be here? Kyo is probably going to die soon anyway. I had a little fun with him earlier, torturing him."

Tohru looked up at him, the feeling of rage coming back to her, full blast. "STOP!" She yelled, closing her eyes, and swinging the sword at him.

When she opened her eyes, she stared down in shock at her blade, covered in blood. She looked up slowly at Noraku. He was hunched over in pain, his hand covering the spot on his shoulder where his arm used to be. It lay beside him, the fingers slightly twitching.

Her mouth hung open in shock. She…cut off his arm. She felt vomit rising in her throat. She had never physically harmed someone like this. She'd accidentally stepped on people's feet before, hit someone with her school bag once…but never had she caused this much physical pain on anyone before.

"You have more guts than I gave you credit for, little girl," Noraku said, voice shaking. "I get the feeling that you love that young man so much you'd do anything for him. The fact that you just cut off my arm, shows that. I'm sure that you'd do much more damage to me if I continued this. I guess…I really don't have much of a chance, do I? I mean, I can't die…but you could still do quite a number on me if I continued this."

Just then, Ruuka and the others filed in. They stared at Tohru's bloody sword, and Noraku's amputated arm.

"No way…don't tell me that _Tohru _cut off your arm?!" Arisa exclaimed in shock. "Our sweet little Tohru cut off your arm?!"

Noraku stood, and nodded. "She's pretty tough. But…I'm surrendering. If she did this, I get the feeling that you all could tear me apart. You planned this whole attack, didn't you, Ruuka?"

Ruuka looked at him with a nod. "You better believe it, Noraku. The angels are the ones who rightly deserve to rule. You aren't fit to rule us."

He smiled sadly. "I commend you, Ruuka. I can't believe I'm saying this, but you deserve to be head of the shinigami. I guess running away from my fate won't do me any good, will it?"

"No, it won't," Ruuka said angrily. "You'll spend the rest of eternity in the Dark Zone." She turned to Yuki and Haru. "Take him to the roof. Saki, follow behind them to make sure he doesn't try anything funny."

"Yes," Haru said, grasping Noraku's only arm. Yuki walked along the other side, and Saki followed them out.

The three others turned their attention to Tohru, who was still staring at her sword.

Machi was the first to approach her. "Tohru-san?" She sat on her knees next to her. "We found Kyo and the others. The dungeon isn't that far from here. Do you want to go see him?"

Tohru slowly turned her pallid face to look at Machi. "Y-yes…" she squeaked out.

Arisa came up behind her, and put her arms around her. "Hey…it's not so bad Tohru. I mean, it's not like you could have killed him. I mean…it did make him surrender."

"Yes, but…I don't like hurting anyone. He said that he had tortured Kyo-kun and that he probably was going to die. When he said that…I got so…angry. I couldn't stop myself," Tohru said, crying.

"Kyo's going to be fine," Ruuka said, leaning against the wall. "We gave him some medicine after we released everyone in the prison. He's in the cell with Sara and Chii. They're waiting for you."

Tohru stood up, and dropped her sword. She walked over to Ruuka, and followed her out of the room.

When Tohru saw Kyo for the first time in days, her heart sank even more. He looked horrible.

"Kyo-kun!" she shouted in horror. She rushed into his cell, and threw herself down on her knees in front of him. She touched his face, and looked over him. His body was battered, bruised…he was pale, sick looking…she'd never seen him this way before.

His eyes looked up at her, exhaustion emanating from his face. "Tohru…" he reached up for her face. He smiled weakly. "I'm so happy…to see you."

Tohru got a good grip on him, and pulled him over to the wall. She sat against it, and helped position himself laying against her. She pulled his head to rest on her chest, and she held him against her, and wept.

Ruuka looked to Sara, Chii, and Arisa. They walked out, letting them be alone for a while.

----

A/N: Kyo and Tohru are reunited! But…it's not over yet, people! There's still a matter of somehow getting the Angels out of the Dark Zone…and a few other things I'm not going to mention…yet. (That is, until it gets to those parts). Well…see ya in Chapter Numero Diez!

-Takara-star-chan


	10. I Believe in Love

Calico

Chapter 10: I Believe in Love

By Takara Star

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

----

Tohru's tears fell, falling into Kyo's orange hair. What did Noraku do to him? This was so appalling…so horrible. Kyo looked sick; looked battered; looked sad; looked humiliated; looked….there were no other words she could think of. His skin had gone pale; there were bruises all over him. He looked like he was in so much pain.

"W-what did he do to you, Kyo-kun?" She asked, voice shaking.

Kyo's copper-amber colored eyes darted up at her. He stared at her a moment, considering what to say. Then said, "I…I don't think…you should know. I was tortured…" he sucked in a sharp breath. "It may be too painful for you to handle."

Tohru swallowed hard, and held him tighter. "I don't care, Kyo-kun. I don't want you to feel all alone. I probably won't be able to understand fully…I'll never understand how horrible it must have been. But…I want you to tell me so I can at least _try._ I want to know so that I can help you better. I don't want to you to go through life when we get back to earth all closed up and lonely about what happened."

Kyo sighed, and sat up, looking at her with sad eyes. "Tohru…" he said, reaching up and touching her face.

"Kyo-kun…you need to rest. Please relax!" Tohru said worriedly.

Ignoring her comment, he leaned in and kissed her. After about a minute, he pulled back and said, "You are so…so…wonderful." He kissed her again. "How in the world can you care so much? I ask myself that everyday. I…I am so happy that you at least want to try understand me…like you always do. You're right…it helps when you know someone cares and wants to try and understand and support you." He pressed his face into her shoulder from exhaustion. "I'll tell you; but promise me…if it bothers you so much that you don't think you can handle it, tell me, and I'll stop."

Tohru's eyes widened, and she blushed. That moment…for some reason…felt really intimate to her. "O-okay. I will."

For what seemed like hours, Kyo sat there, recalling each detail of what Noraku had done to him. Tohru felt her eyes opening in a way she had never realized was possible. She and Kyo were both crying. It was…horrible. Everything was so hard to process.

When he was finished, they sat in silence for a few moments. Then Kyo said, "What would you do if I had died?"

Tohru felt a pang of fear rise up in her. "I don't even want to think about that, Kyo-kun. But you aren't going to die. You won't!"

"I'm sorry," Kyo said sadly. "I was just curious. I…I have been worried about that for days. What if I had died? What would happen to you?"

"I really don't know," Tohru said, body trembling. "I'd probably stop smiling."

"That would be so much worse than what happened to me. If I knew that you had stopped smiling…stopped being happy…that would tear me apart and hurt me so much more than what Noraku did."

"You aren't going to die, Kyo-kun. We are going back once Noraku gets taken care of. Then…everything will be right again. We will go back and get married. I'll wear my dress that Ayame-san is making for me, carry my bouquet of white flowers, we'll exchange vows, and be together always. I want to make you meals…I want to have your children one day… I want to make you smile…I want to love you more than anyone else! If that were to never happen…I'd be heart broken. I want these things more than I've ever wanted anything in my life," Tohru whispered to him.

Kyo looked up at her again, and gave her a weak smile. "Me too. I want all of those things too. More than you know. And all of those things will happen."

----

Ruuka stared in pure hatred at Noraku. "You don't know how long I've waited for this day. You and the rest of the Shinigami that have messed everything up…even when you were alive…you will pay for everything; by spending the rest of eternity in the Dark Zone."

"Yeah yeah," Noraku said, rolling his eyes. "If I were this easy…I'd have lost long before now." He then pushed Yuki and Haru to the ground. Jumping up, he came crashing down on Ruuka. "ATTACK!"

Then, more shinigami came out of nowhere. Then, a battle began to rage.

Ruuka pulled out her sword swinging with all her might. "I don't know why you didn't just get sent to the Dark Zone when you died. After what you did to Sara and Kasuke, I'm surprised you didn't get destroyed then and there!"

"That's because the angels had no idea that it was me!" Using his other arm, he swung the sword at Ruuka. He reached out grabbing her swinging arm. "Look, Ruuka. If you surrender right now…I will make you my bride like I said I was going to do when we were on earth. Then, I'll find a way to make things right on earth."

She jerked away, quickly grabbing his sword. "I don't think so. I will NEVER love you again. You knew that when you betrayed them…your best friends…that they would get hurt! I HATE YOU!" She swung both swords at him, slicing him.

Noraku fell to the ground in pain. Blood flowed from his entire body onto the area around him.

The battle raged around them. Yuki and Haru fighting three Shinigami at once; Arisa and Hana taking on one; Machi shooting arrows at another.

Chii rushed over to where Ruuka and Noraku were. "You need help?"

"No," Ruuka said icily. "Noraku is just a pathetic coward as always. This battle should last long. The other one was fairly short." She kicked him in the Ribs.

Noraku yelled in pain.

"You'll be glad to avenge them, won't you?" Chii asked glaring down at him.

"You have no idea, sister," Ruuka replied, her face turning into a snarl at Noraku.

----

The second battle was over within the hour. Noraku and his followers were now going to be thrown into the Dark Zone.

"You and your men really put up quite a fight…but we are still better," Ruuka said, sitting on top of Noraku to prevent him from getting away again.

"Whatever. Have fun trying to get the angels out. You may just have to start an all new High Angelicus Order. Have fun with that," he said in irritation.

"Ha ha ha," said Chii, rolling her eyes. "There is a way to get them out, and we'll find it."

"I know how," said Ruuka, slowly standing up. She jerked on the back of Noraku's shirt, and pulled him up. "But first, you go."

"Wait!" Sara yelled, running toward them. She ran until she was standing in front of Noraku. "I need to ask you something. Were you the one who betrayed Kasuke and I?"

"Yeah," Noraku said staring at her angrily. "I'm the one who told the head of the family that you were running away."

"But…why? Kasuke was your best friend!"

" 'Why?' I'll tell you why…because he took from me the only thing I ever wanted...and I was stuck betrothed this worthless slut over here!" He said referring to Ruuka. "I'm in love with you, Sara. Kasuke took you from me."

Ruuka looked like she had been slapped. "So…everything you ever said to me…was meaningless? When we were alive…you never loved me at all? Why didn't you just tell the truth?"

"Because I had never said anything to Kasuke about me being in love with her. Since he had gotten to her first, I decided I stay engaged to you to try and get over Sara. It never worked. Yeah, so everything I had said to you was a lie, Ruuka," Noraku said angrily.

Sara looked down at the ground, and squeezed her fists. "You…you make me sick. I never cared about you that way. I saw you as a friend…mainly Kasuke's friend. You don't love me. If you had loved me, you would have wanted me to be happy…even if that meant I was with someone else. You don't know what real love is. You probably only wanted me for what you see physically. Am I right? That isn't love."

Noraku didn't say anything, and just stared down at the ground.

"I thought so," Sara choked, tears welling up. "I could have had a long, happy life with Kasuke, and you ruined it. I don't even know where he is. I know he's dead…but…I don't know if he's a ghost, a shinigami, an angel…or if he decided just to go to heaven. No one will tell me. I hurt people because you, Noraku, told me that you would tell me about Kasuke if I did your bidding. You weren't even going to tell me, were you? You're not allow to tell the business of the dead to another person of the dead; unless you were told to do so by that spirit."

"Have a wonderful eternity in the Dark Zone, Noraku," Ruuka said, thrusting him forward into the dark, swirling vortex.

-----

A few days later, Kyo was able to walk a little bit. He had to hold Tohru's hand, but was still able to get around.

But…all of them had to discuss how to get the Angels out of the Dark Zone.

"Okay…I did the research, so, I know how to get the angels out," said Chii, flipping open a book.

"How? I can't read the old shinigami language," said Ruuka, looking over at the book.

Chii sighed in exasperation. "I was about to tell you. If you be quiet, I will do so."

"Sorry," said Ruuka, blushing. "You know me. I can tend to get impatient."

"So I know. Anyway…the books says:

'_There may come a time when holy beings, such as angels, are thrown into the Dark Zone, causing catastrophic events in the earth, as well as the spirit realm itself. This issue can be resolved if two of the most innocent people on earth (not children) can join together and chant the old releasing spell. The innocence is believed to work side by side with the spell, creating a powerful force. But, it has never been done before. No one knows exactly what happens to the people who do the spell. The spell itself should be release the angels though.'_

How will we find the most innocent people on earth?" Chii pondered, closing her eyes.

Ruuka perked up. "I don't think we'll have to look, Chii-chan."

Everyone looked at her in surprise.

"What do you mean?" asked Sara wide-eyed.

"Yeah…wouldn't that require searching? I mean, the two most innocent people on earth may be difficult to find since we are not angels," Haru said curiously. "Not that I would know anything about that stuff…I'm just guessing. You can count me out as one of the most innocent people on earth."

"I agree," said Ruuka with a nod. "We would have to look; but you wouldn't have to if you had two people here who could be definite candidates for that." She looked at Kyo and Tohru.

"Us?" they said in unison. They looked at each other in surprise.

"Why us?" Kyo cocked an eyebrow.

"Because…you two are innocent in so many ways. For some reason…I feel as if you two are the ones to do this," Ruuka said smiling.

"Wait…how can I be one of the most innocent people on earth?" Tohru asked shaking her head. "Me…definitely not."

Arisa chuckled. "Of course she'd say that. Tohru, you are one of the most innocent people I know. Everyone else here agrees, I'm sure."

Murmurs of agreement rose up all over the room.

"You and Kyo-kun should do it, Tohru-kun," Hana said with a nod.

Tohru looked over at Kyo with a scared look. "You want to try, Kyo-kun?"

He gave her a soft smile. "We should. If we're doing this together…I don't feel afraid at all."

"Okay," said Tohru, smiling. "We'll do it."

----

Tohru and Kyo held each other's hands as they stood in front of the dark vortex. Chii handed them a paper to read the spell from. They took a deep breath, and began to read the spell.

_For beings that have done no wrong,_

_We ask that you release them now._

_For the world is in danger, this we know,_

_We need them back to restore life's song._

_The earth is in peril,_

_With sadness and fear._

_It is more than we can bear._

_It is being destroyed by war and quarrel._

_We commend thee now,_

_O place of torment,_

_We wish things to be dormant._

_We will do well, this our vow._

Kyo and Tohru said their spell as everyone looked on with awe. Then, when they were finished, a bright light burst from the center of the vortex; everything going black for Kyo and Tohru.

----

A/N: I know. The spell is kinda corny. It's hard coming up with them, you know? So, I decided to make it a rhyming sonnet!!! LOL. The next chapter, we will learn about where and what Kasuke is doing…and what he is. He will tell his story of what happened on the day when he and Sara were supposed to run away…we know that Noraku had something to do with it all…so, we'll just have to see. (Of course I know, I'm the author!) lol.

God Bless!

-Takara-star-chan


	11. Love Story Part 1

Calico

Chapter 11: Love Story

By Takara-Star-Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

----

Tohru smiled, as she twirled around and around, the flowering meadow dancing along with her. The sun was shining beautifully…and she was wearing the white dress that Ayame had made for the wedding. She had pretty white flowers in her hair, her lashes long and curled, and her skin glowing. She laughed looking back at Kyo-kun, who was laughing as well, and began to dance with her. This was their time. Just them; laughing, dancing, in their own little world.

Kyo came and wrapped his arms around her waist, picking her up off the ground and kissing her. Tohru wrapped her arms around his neck, her fingers gently grasping tufts of his orange hair. Kyo stepped back, and stumbled over a hole in the ground and fell over….they laughed but ignored that as they laid together in the sunshine; the tall grasses surrounding them.

Suddenly, Tohru heard a voice calling her name. She pulled away from Kyo in surprise, and sat up on her knees looking around. Kyo sat up as well, confused.

"Tohru!" the voice called. "Tohru-san…please wake up! Tohru-san!"

Tohru's eyes began to slowly open. Above her, she could see blurry images of three individuals.

"I think she's coming around," said a particularly deep voice she didn't recognize.

Another voice, a familiar one, spoke up. "Oh, thank goodness!"

The third person simply sat there, and reached over to touch her face. The voice belonged to the reason of her existence. "Tohru…can you hear me? Talk to me to let me know you hear me."

A moan escaped her throat, and she tried to open her eyes wider to get a better view. "Kyo-kun..." then she suddenly sat up in surprise, gasping.

"Whoa! Tohru! Are you okay?" Kyo asked in alarm.

"H-how long have I been asleep?" She asked looking around in shock.

Kyo chuckled. "Almost twenty-four hours. You were out cold."

"Ha," said Arisa mockingly. "You were too. You were out for almost fifteen hours."

"Whatever," Kyo said, rolling his eyes.

Tohru looked slowly around the room and saw another man she had never seen before. He had beautiful ivory skin, chocolate brown eyes, and shiny black hair. Out from his back came snow-white angel wings. "E-excuse me sir…are you an angel? Were you one of the ones freed from the Dark Zone?"

The man, rather angel, looked over at her with kind, gentle eyes. "Yes, actually. I'm the head angel. I can't thank you and Kyo enough for setting us free."

"Oh! No, please. It was no trouble at all!" Tohru said, blushing and bowing.

Arisa snorted, trying to hold back a laugh. "'No Trouble at all'? Tohru, you were out cold for hours!"

"She's right, Tohru. You and Kyo will be highly honored. What you two did was very brave. That spell has never been attempted before," the Head Angel said, smiling. "And…I'm sorry my best friend Noraku caused you two so much pain."

Kyo looked over at him in surprise. "Wait a minute…did you say…'best friend'?"

The Head Angel walked over to them. "Yes…I'm afraid it's true. Noraku was my best friend when I was alive, and when I had died…or, so I thought. I didn't know until he had overthrew us so cleverly that he had betrayed me when we were both alive."

Something went 'click' inside Tohru's brain. "Wait a minute…are you…Kasuke-san?"

"Yes," he said sadly. "I am."

Tohru jumped up off the couch she was laying on. "Have you seen Sara-san yet?"

"No," Kasuke said, turning away. "I haven't seen her yet. I feel like she's avoiding me."

Then, something caught Kyo and Tohru's eyes. They turned to the doorway and saw Sara listening in. She looked really sad.

"Sara-san!" Tohru said, rushing over to her. She grasped the sleeve on her kimono. "Come in! Please come in!"

"Eh?" Sara's eyes went wide. "Wait…"

Tohru pulled her into the room, and led her over to Kasuke.

"Sara," Kasuke breathed. He reached out to touch her face. "I've missed you so much."

Sara's eyes welled up with tears. "I missed you too." She reached up and touched his hand. "But…how can we be together now? You're the Head Angel…I'm…I mean…after what I did to Tohru-kun…how could you possibly still want me?"

Kasuke pulled her into his arms, and pressed his face into her hair. "You did what you did because you loved me. Even the best of people can do crazy things when they're in love. Noraku tricked you by using what he knew was your weak point."

Suddenly, Sara transformed into her cat form. "Why does everything have to go wrong?"

Kasuke laughed. "We're…going to have to fix that." He ran his fingers over the black and orange spots on her head.

----

(Ten minutes later, after Sara had transformed back)

Tohru cocked her head. "Um…if you don't mind me asking…I'm…curious. What happened on the day you both died?"

Kasuke sighed. "Well…that's a long story….but appears we have time." He laughed. "Do you want to tell your side first, or my side?" He asked Sara.

"You go first," she said with a nod.

"Okay," said Kasuke, nodding back.

----

Kasuke waved goodbye to Sara, so ready to get out of the Sohma estate. He was overjoyed to know that she had said yes to his marriage proposal. Now, they were going to elope and get married.

He ran all the way back to his house, feeling exhilarated and tall. He ran up the stairs to his room, and pulled out a bag, and began to pack. They were leaving tomorrow; first thing in the morning.

"So…you are leaving then?" said Noraku, standing in the doorway. "Will you ever come back?"

"Not for a long time," Kasuke said, smiling. "Sara and I are going to start our own lives together. I can't wait."

"I'll bet you can't," Noraku whispered. He walked into the room, and sat down on the futon. "Where will you go?"

"Probably to Hokkaido," Kasuke replied, tossing clothes into his bag. "I was told that they've opened up boarding houses there. Maybe Sara and I can live in one of them until we get house of our own built. I'll write you."

Noraku stood up and walked to the door. "Sure. See you whenever."

When, Kasuke was finished packing, he laid down on his bed, and fell asleep.

---

Just before sunrise, Kasuke was walking out the place he was going to meet Sara so that they could leave. He sat on the bench, waiting for Sara.

He sat for ten minutes…then for twenty. He sat for thirty…he sat for an hour. Sara still did not show up. Still…there was a strange chill in the air.

"Kasuke," a voice called.

Kasuke turned and saw the head of the family, Kaiku, coming toward them. "Kaiku? What's going on?"

"Interesting question you ask of me, my son," Kaiku said, coming forward slowly, hands behind his back. He lifted one hand, and motioned to some people behind him to come forward. Three other people came forward and had their hands behind their backs as well. "I believe the question is, what are you doing?"

"Waiting for someone," Kasuke said cautiously. He stood up holding his bag over his shoulder.

"Who might you be waiting for?" Kaiku came forward and stood four feet in front of Kasuke.

"Sara," Kasuke said, putting one foot back. "She should have been here an hour ago."

"Why would you be waiting for her?"

"Why do you want to know?" Kasuke asked, taking a step back.

Kaiku chuckled. "You should know. Trying to take away the zodiac…even if it is the cat…despicable. They are not suited to live in the real world. So…to prevent it, we took care of her."

"You…locked her up, didn't you?" Kasuke said, his face twisting in anger.

"No. We knew if we did that, you'd cause problems by trying to get her out…or even visiting her. So, we had another solution," Kaiku said with a smirk.

Kasuke's face became pale, and he felt sick to his stomach. "You killed her."

"Hm. Yes. But I prefer the word 'eliminate'," the head of the family said pulling a bloody knife blade to show Kasuke. "Her blood is a beautiful red, isn't it? Quite lovely, that monster. So was her heart." Kaiku reached into his pocket, and pulled out an object slightly smaller than his fist. He dangled it in front of Kasuke's face. "You don't know how much I had to dig to get this. I thought you might like to see one last part of her before you leave this life as well."

Kasuke felt vomit rise in his throat. He took a few more steps back. "Y-you're sick. How could you do that to her?"

"You should be thanking me," Kaiku said to him. "You should probably be thanking me now because you won't be here too much longer either. You probably won't to live anymore anyway." He turned to the three behind him. "Get him."

Kasuke's eyes widened in fear, and he turned and ran. The biggest problem was that he was never a fast runner. He let out a scream as knife blades stabbed through his skin.

----

A/N: So…yeah. Kasuke is the head angel. Sara didn't know this because ghosts aren't really supposed to know these things unless they approached by those beings themselves. Ah…well, in the next chapter Sara will tell her story!


	12. Love Story Part 2

Calico

Chapter 12: Love Story, Part 2

By Takara-Star-Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya

----

Kasuke turned to Sara and smiled sadly. "Are you ready to tell your story?"

Sara looked at him and nodded; then turned to Kyo, Tohru, and Arisa; the three of them said nothing, waiting for her to begin.

----

Kasuke and Sara walked through the Sohma gardens laughing and talking. The sun shone down on them, making everything thing in the garden bright, and bold.

Then, Kasuke stopped her in front of the rose bushes. "These roses just bloomed."

"Hm," Sara said, smiling in surprise and curiosity. "Really?"

"Yeah. I planted them a few months ago," he said pulling out some scissors. "Which color?"

She stood in thought for a moment. "A red one and a white one."

Kasuke laughed. "You can't pick just one?"

"No," she said turning and gently touching one of the red rose's velvety petals. "They look so beautiful together side by side. It's like they were meant for eachother."

He smiled softly, cutting two of the flowers from their bush. He turned and handed them to her. "Like us?"

Sara closed her eyes and put the flowers up to her nose, breathing in their scent. Then she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "I guess…"

Kasuke grasped her face, and pressed his lips to hers. She closed her eyes, and dropped the roses, reaching up to touch his hands. When he pulled away, he said, "You guess?"

She looked at him, confusion evident in her face.

He then pulled up the sleeve on her kimono, up past her elbow. He pressed his face into her arm, and kissed the crease in her arm where it would bend. Then he looked up at her, trailing his fingertips down her arm, and getting down on one knee. He pulled her hand to his lips, then looked up at her once more.

"Sara…I…I want to be with you for the rest of my life. You're my best friend, and the most beautiful, wonderful, woman I've ever met. I'm asking you to run away with me and be my bride. I want to take care of you, and give you the best life possible." He pulled a ring from his pocket.

Sara's mouth hung wide open in shock. She stood there trying to get words to come out; but they wouldn't come. She finally fell to her knees as the tears gushed out. She reached up, touching his face, and kissing him. Finally, she said, "Y-yes. P-please by all means let me marry you!"

Kasuke smiled, reaching up, wiping away her tears. He pressed the ring on her finger, and helped her stand up.

"Thank you," he said lacing his fingers into hers, and kissing her again. "You've just made me the happiest man on earth right now."

----

When Sara got to her favorite spot in the woods, she began to dance, spinning around and around. She couldn't ever remember being this happy…this exhilarated. The man she loved, loved her, and wanted her alone. He chose her over hundreds of other girls he could have picked; and they were running away tomorrow just before sunrise.

The thought absolutely thrilled her of being with him for the rest of her life. Making him dinner, laying next to him every night, having his children, going on outings hand in hand together…

She laid herself across the log, and stared up through the tops of the trees where the sun shone through. She breathed in deeply, watching the leaves above her dance and glitter in the light.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling from somewhere nearby. She sat up in alarm, looking around frantically, wondering what it could be. Suddenly, she saw a figures emerge from behind a bush nearby.

It was Kaiku, the head of the family; three of his servants, and Noraku.

"Dear little Sara," Kaiku said, smiling. "How are you this fine day?"

"Okay, I guess," she looked at him warily. She didn't get along with Kaiku that well. She then looked back at Noraku. Something was up. She could feel it.

"You seem to be more than okay," Kaiku said, walking forward. "A little bird told me that you were running off with Kasuke to be married."

Sara's face went pale, and she sucked in a breath. Her eyes went to Noraku. "Y-you traitor," she squeaked. Kaiku wouldn't allow any of the zodiac members to leave, or marry anyone he didn't approve of.

Noraku narrowed his eyes, and turned away.

"Oh now, now, Sara. There's no need to go and point fingers. After all, you should be pointing them at yourself!" Kaiku raised his fist, and punched her across the face. "Did you honestly think I'd let you go? Especially you, the low-down filthy cat?"

The force struck Sara back, hitting a tree. She stood up again, this time attempting to climb the tree; but before she could, Kaiku's three servants had her. They pushed her to the ground while she screamed and wildly trying to fight back. They held her arms and legs down.

"You know," Kaiku said, eyeing her. "I thought and thought about what I should do with you. I thought about locking you up, but then I realized that Kasuke would try to break you out. So, to keep the peace on the grounds her, I decided that both of you will pay the ultimate price…with your lives. You're first. Goodbye Sara."

Sara began to scream again. "NO! PLEASE! LET US GO! I'LL DO ANYTHING! JUST LET KASUKE AND I GO AND BE TOGETHER!"

Kaiku stopped for a moment considering. "Okay. But if I do give you your life, you will have to become my mistress. You will never leave home, and never see Kasuke again. I know you want to be with Kasuke, but it just won't do."

Sara began to cry. "Then just take my life then. I don't want to be with anyone else."

Kaiku knelt to the ground, holding the knife above his head. The last thing Sara felt was the icy cold blade freeze her heart to a stop. Then, nothing.

----

Tohru felt herself in tears by the end of story; Kyo reaching over and rubbing her back to comfort her. Arisa stood in silence, staring out the window.

"What a horrible way to die," Tohru said, looking up at Sara and Kasuke.

Kasuke shook his head. "Maybe. But, I'm glad to have her by my side again." He looked Sara thoughtfully.

Tohru then looked at Kyo.

"What?" Kyo asked, smiling at her.

"I…I think we need to go home soon," she replied, her eyes full of determination.

"She's right," Kasuke said, lacing his fingers into Sara's. "While you two were sleeping, the angels and I set things back to normalcy on the earth. China has withdrawn from the war, and is paying the other countries money in apology. Everyone is now beginning to get back into their normal routines. So, all of you should be good to go back soon."

"Sounds good to me," Arisa said, stretching. "It would be nice to see Kureno again."

With that, she walked out.

Kyo and Tohru stood up, lacing their fingers as well. They smiled fondly at eachother.

"I definitely want to get back," Tohru said with a small laugh. "I'm very ready to marry you, Kyo-kun."

Kyo blushed, and cocked and eyebrow. "I know you are. I'm definitely ready for that too. It feels like we've waited _too long._"

"Well before you go, we have our honorary celebration. There will be a banquet, and some words of thanks to you and your friends for helping us so much. Then, before you leave, Sara will be changed into an angel, and you two will have an eternal bond placed upon you. It's sort of like marriage, only, it covers your souls. Your souls will then be bound for eternity. Then, because of what you have done here, when you leave your lives on earth, you both will instantly become angels," Kasuke explained.

Kyo and Tohru's mouths hung open in surprise. Tohru fell to her knees. "S-such a high honor I don't deserve! Thank you so much!"

Kyo looked into Kasuke's face. "Me neither. This is…really surprising."

"You both do deserve it," Sara said, beaming. "You two had a lot of guts to come here and do what you did."

-----

The banquet was plentiful, with every kind of food imaginable. There was dancing, celebrating, and Sara's curse was removed from her.

Finally, the last event that took place was the ceremony of goodbyes. It began with Sara's transformation into an angel.

Sara knelt down in front of Kasuke, bowing her head.

"Sara, because of your heart, and because of your strength, I hereby announce you a member of the High Angelicus Order. May your former heart be cleansed clean and new; and being able to spread goodness in this world, and the earth," Kasuke said, touching her head.

A light shone through his fingers, growing larger, until it surrounded her head like a halo. Then, he stepped back, and the light enveloped her entire body. It rose into the air like a glimmering star. Her outline was faintly seen, as she began to transform. Her juzu beads shattered into a million pieces, and her eyes began to glimmer with the same intensity as the light she was surrounded by. Then, the light disappeared, and a set of glimmering, snow white wings burst out from her back.

She was thousands of times more radiant than she was before. Her skin was that perfect creamy ivory just like Kasuke's; her hair was shinier; her gold eyes even golder; her face structure completely flawless.

She walked over to a nearby pond and stared at herself. She gawked at herself. She was beautiful before; but this just took it to a whole new level. She then turned, and flew at Kasuke, knocking him over, and throwing her arms around him.

He laughed, standing themselves up. He threw her arms around her, and held her tight. "I never thought I'd ever get to hold you. It feels nice."

Sara felt tears come from her eyes. Tears of joy. She didn't think it would ever be possible either. Finally, they let go of eachother, and turned to Kyo and Tohru.

"These two hearts," Kasuke said, pulling out two necklaces, and placed them over their heads. Their was a rose pendant on each of them. "Have shown much bravery these last few days. Kyo had an amazing drive to live after he was brutally tortured to the point of almost dying. Tohru didn't stop fighting, and did things she never thought she'd ever do, all for the sake of this young man, and the world in which they live in. I'm binding these two souls together for all eternity." Then, the pendants began to glow, and they lifted up to touch eachother. Then, the light disappeared, and the pendants returned to their position.

Kyo and Tohru looked at eachother and smiled. Then, he leaned in and kissed her. "I wonder what our actual wedding will be like?" he whispered to her.

"This is, and our wedding are and will be two events we'll always cherish. I know that much," Tohru whispered back.

Then, they walked over to where their friends were. They waved goodbye to the angels and shinigami, then joined hands, and vanished back to earth.

----

A/N: One more chapter to go; then I will begin to write _Marmalade_, the sequel to this story. In the next chapter expect a blushing bride, a dashing groom, crying bridesmaids, hot groomsmen, a first dance, and a sweet beginning of their life together. Not to mention a prologue. Lol. I'll catch ya later in Chapter twelve!

God Bless!

-Takara-star-chan


	13. Saved the Best For Last

Calico

Chapter 13: Saved the Best for Last

By: Takara-Star-Chan

Disclaimer: I do not own Fruits Basket. It belongs to Natsuki Takaya.

----

(One week later, Akito's room, Sohma Estate)

They had to push the date up a few days because of the worldly issues going on; but everyone insisted that they still have the big wedding that they had planned.

Tohru stared at herself in the mirror, gawking. She couldn't believe she looked like this. Her dress was lovely; scoop neckline with short sleeves; a ribbon went around her tiny waist, and tied in the front in a small bow; the skirt had a little pouf to it; but not so much that she looked like cupcake. There were pretty white flowers in her hair, and in her hands was a bouquet of white roses.

Ayame had done an amazing job. The dress suited her perfectly.

"I can't believe it," Arisa said, crying. "Our little Tohru looks so beautiful!"

"Our little Tohru-kun is getting married today!" Hana said, crying as well.

While the two maids of honor sat and cried, the other two bridesmaids, Isuzu and Kisa stared on thoughtfully.

"Onee-chan looks pretty. I think Kyo nii-san will be very impressed," Kisa said, touching Tohru's arm.

"He better," Arisa said, hand forming a fist. "We worked hard on her just for that!"

"I'm certain he will. There's no need to go all Kung-ho about it," Isuzu said, rolling her eyes.

"Oh," Arisa said evilly. "I will most certainly go all Kung-ho about it if there's no reaction from him. Right there…at the altar…in front of hundreds of people!"

"Uo-chan…please don't. I really would appreciate it if you didn't do that," Tohru said, worriedly.

"Okay, okay. Just kidding, Tohru. I would never actually cause a scene like that at your wedding," Arisa said, laughing.

Just then, Akito, the other bridesmaid, came in. "Tohru-san…your Grandfather and Shigure are here. It's almost time."

"Okay," Tohru said, with a nod.

----

Kyo rubbed his hands together anxiously. He was a nervous wreck at the moment. His groomsmen sat there wondering what in the world they could do to calm him down.

"Kyo," Haru said, picking up a bottle of champagne. "Here. Pour yourself a glass of this, and maybe it will help you relax."

"Are you out of your mind? I'm not drinking that nasty stuff! I hate alcohol! You know that!" Kyo said in irritation.

Momiji pulled out some chocolate. "How about some chocolate, Kyo? Will that help?"

"I can only handle so much chocolate in one setting. I already had those chocolate chip pancakes this morning that Tohru made for me," Kyo said shaking his head.

Yuki (who was strangely the best man) sighed. "I don't think anything we come with to help him at the moment will help. That stuff will probably only make him even more nervous."

"Whoa. Let's get one thing straight," Kyo said pointing at them, finger trembling. "I'm not nervous. Just…"

He couldn't find the right word.

"You're nervous," Haru said, shaking the bottle of champagne.

Kyo's eyes widened. "You better not."

Haru stood there continuing to shake it. "Do what?"

"Really, Haru, don't," Yuki said, eyes widening.

Momiji said nothing, his eyes wide.

"Come on. You wouldn't have a bachelor party, Kyo. You should do something lively," Haru said, still shaking the bottle. Haru reached up, and grasped the lid on the bottle. He turned the lid, and the liquid began to fizz.

"HIT THE DECK!" Kyo yelled, ducking under a table.

Momiji and Yuki did the same; and, almost at the same time, the lid on the champagne blew off, spraying the liquid everywhere.

Shigure walked in, and his eyes widened. "Um…what just happened in here?"

"It's not our fault," Kyo said, coming out from under the table. Thankfully, dry. "Haru over there made the champagne explode!"

"Haru," Shigure said shaking his head. Then he smiled and gave him a thumbs up, saying, "Good job!"

----

"You look lovely, Tohru," her Grandfather said with a smile. "Just how I'd pictured you be on your wedding day."

Tohru smiled. "Thank you Grandpa."

Shigure smiled as well. "Very pretty."

The wedding planner came into the room. "Okay, the bridesmaids need to walk out now."

Arisa and Hana walked and stood arm in arm at the front of the line up. After that, Akito; then Isuzu; then Kisa. The wedding planner waved them forward, and pushed on the doors.

"Follow the path to the left," she said nodding toward it. With that, Arisa and Hana made their way out first. Then the rest followed suit.

Shigure and Grandpa linked arms with Tohru ready to head out.

"I'm so nervous right now," she said quietly.

"You'll be fine," Shigure said reaching up, and squeezing her shoulder. "It will be easy."

"Yes," Grandpa said with a nod in agreement. "It will be fine."

Then, the wedding planner motioned them forward to walk down the path.

They walked down the path until they came to the large white gate that was the entrance to the gardens. Tohru sucked in a deep breath as Pachelbel's Canon began to play over the speakers. Then, the garden gates burst open, and Tohru's eyes stared down a seemingly long aisle with a wide-eyed Kyo-kun at the end.

As Shigure and Grandpa led her down, more than a hundred people stood, watching her come down the aisle. They were old classmates, Sohma family members, Honda family members, and a few other people she didn't recognize. In the middle, she noticed a family sitting there that looked vaguely familiar; yet she knew she had never met them. She decided not to worry about that for now. She focused on the young man waiting for her. The shock had left his face, was replaced was a soft, loving smile directed at her.

At the end, the person performing the ceremony said, "Who gives this young woman to be married?"

"We do," Shigure and Grandpa said in unison.

With that, they removed their arms, and Tohru reached forward to take Kyo's hand. He pulled her forward to whisper in her ear. "You look so pretty."

Tohru's face became beet red, but she smiled back with a nod.

"Thank you," she whispered back.

"We are gathered here today…" the preacher man said, beginning the introduction.

Tohru stared up into Kyo's eyes. Everything so far was perfect. Absolutely perfect. Her heart pounded as they began to say their vows, in utter shock that here she was…giving herself to Kyo-kun. Finally.

Then, after the vows had been said, and the rings given, the moment that would finally seal what they had been waiting for had come.

"Based upon the vows you exchanged today before these witnesses, you, Kyo Sohma, may now kiss your bride."

Tohru swallowed hard, her heart pounding furiously now. Kyo felt his heart beat hard and fast as well. He reached up, placing a hand on the side of her face, closed his eyes, and began to lean in. Tohru closed her eyes too, waiting for him. He then grasped the other side of her face, and pressed his lips into hers.

Tohru and Kyo stood there kissing for about ten seconds; then broke apart. He smiled at her, his eyes beaming. Then he reached down to take her hand.

The preacher man then said, "I now introduce you both as Mr. and Mrs. Kyo Sohma."

Then, the exit march played, and they walked back down the aisle hand in hand. People all around them were cheering and clapping for them.

When they had made it out of the gates, Tohru turned, and jumped up, throwing her arms around his neck. She was laughing and crying.

Kyo wrapped his arms around her, chuckling at her antics.

"I love you," she said.

"Love you too," he whispered back. "I'm glad to see you're so happy. I'm…happy too."

They kissed once again, and he set her back on the ground, entwining their fingers.

----

The music came on slow. Kyo had never danced before in front of people like this. When he and Tohru were at home alone, sometimes Tohru would want to dance with him if a love song came on the radio or what-not. It didn't bother Kyo to dance with her like that; just as long as no one else saw. But, today, he made an exception. It was kind of nerve-wracking, having all these people watching them like this; but, hey, this was for Tohru.

Tohru wrapped her arms around his neck, as Kyo wrapped his arms around her waist, holding her tightly. He pressed his head against hers, and they began to turn around and around to the music.

"Kyo-kun…?" Tohru asked softly. "Tell me about this place you're taking me to in a week? Where we'll be living."

He sighed. "It's pretty far away…in Hokkaido. There's this older couple who owns a dojo up there, who are practically like Grandparents to me. Their house is set up a little differently. The left side of the house is where they live. In the middle of the house is the dojo. On the right is another house, sort of. Only, it's all connected. We'll be staying on the right side of the home. We'll have our own kitchen, and everything. I'll be working in the dojo as an assistant instructor."

"Hm," Tohru murmured. "Sounds like a big house."

"It is, sort of. It is slightly bigger than the one we are living in now."

"I can't wait to meet that older couple. They sound nice," she stated.

Kyo chuckled softly. "You will definitely get along well with Obaa-san. Her real name is Kashuko. You should get along with Kayui, her husband too."

"Eh? Kayui?" Tohru said in surprise, holding back a laugh.

"Don't laugh," Kyo said trying to hold back laughter as well. "His mom had an allergic reaction before he was born. It drove her nuts for a little while that she just decided to name him Kayui. The name just stuck. His middle name is Botiniku."

"Um…" Tohru said trying not to laugh still. "I'm sorry. That's….the oddest name I've ever heard. But, he can't help it. I'll…try to get used to it."

"We better hope," Kyo said shaking his head, laughing.

----

After the reception, Kyo walked out of the Gardens again while the guests blew bubbles at them. At the end of the walk was a white limousine.

"Did you do this, Kyo-kun?" Tohru asked happily. She had changed into an off-shoulder red dress and heels.

"No, I think Shishou rented it for us," He replied, smiling back. Tohru and Kyo stood in front of it waving at everyone. Arisa and Hana were crying again; Yuki and the groomsmen were continuing to blow bubbles. And, then out of the crowd, Shishou came forward and handed Tohru a bouquet of roses.

"I want to officially welcome you to the family Mrs. Sohma," he said, smiling. "I'm glad to call you my daughter in law."

"Th-thank you, Shishou-san! I feel so honored!" Tohru said with a bow.

Then Shishou turned to Kyo, and gave him a hug. Then he pulled back with a smile. "You two go now. It's getting late."

Kyo nodded, and turned to open the door for Tohru. She climbed in, and then he went in after. They reached out of the window to wave as the limo pulled out of the parking lot.

When the limo had pulled out of the parking lot, Tohru climbed into his lap, and rested her head against him. He reached up to stroke her hair.

"I'm glad that's over with," he said closing his eyes. "Finally we have time for ourselves."

Tohru smiled. "That sounds good right now. Now we can finally relax."

----

Tohru stared around in amazement at their room. "Y-you picked this place out for us to stay? It's so pretty."

The room's wall was painted with cherry blossom trees. There was a large bed with a red silk bed spread and a silk canopy. There was a hot tub in one room, and a large shower in the bathroom. There was a flat screen TV on the wall, and beautiful decorations and statues. The room even smelled like cherry blossoms.

She waltzed over the bed and sat. It was a very soft, comfortable feeling bed. A feather-bed, perhaps?

Kyo sat their bags down, and turned to shut the door. He smiled. She liked it. That's a good thing. He walked over to the window, where there was a view of the ocean. "Hey, Tohru, look at this."

She stood up and walked over to it. The sun was almost set, and there were stars glittering over the rolling waters. "Oh wow. It has an ocean view, too! Maybe tomorrow we should go down to the beach!"

"Sure, if you want to," he said turning to walk towards a table. He sat down in one of the chairs. This had to be the most nerve-wracking part of the whole day.

"Are you okay, Kyo-kun?" She asked, walking towards him.

He looked up at her. "Hm? Yeah; I'm fine. Everything just feels so surreal right now."

She touched his face. "It does. I can't believe everything that has happened today." She smiled, and leaned down to kiss him. "I wouldn't trade this day for anything though."

He stood up, and walked over to the window again. "I just can't believe that…I'm actually in love with someone. Four years ago…I would have laughed at the idea of ever being with or wanting anyone. I just didn't think it was possible. But then…once I started living in Shigure's house with you…that all changed. Everything that I had once thought about myself in terms of being with someone changed. I had strange feelings rise up in me. I felt very protective of you, very drawn to you. It was the strangest thing." He turned to smile at her again.

Tohru smiled back. It made her happy to know that they were both each other's first loves. That means that they both got it right the first time. She walked over to a wooden dresser that was next to the TV. She untied the ribbons in her hair, and took off her shoes. She turned to him, and just stared at him for a moment. Was he always this attractive?

He stared back at her, noticing her eyes were glimmering more than usual. Her hair and skin looked soft. _Whoa,_ he thought. _Did I just think that?_ The air between them suddenly changed. Not in negative way…but in a way they hadn't expected. Something very nice. He turned his down for a moment, and unbuttoned his shirt. Then he proceeded toward the bed as if something were literally pushing him forward to do so. He sat on it, and looked over at her, and said, "Come here."

Tohru made her way over slowly to him feeling a little uncertain and awkward. What was she supposed to do? Would she know? Would she just _know?_ Was he feeling the same way? Her mind raced furiously worried that she would just freeze. When she reached him, she climbed on his lap, and wrapped her arms around his neck. Then, all worries from her just vanished. This was going to be easy. She could feel it.

"Kyo-kun…" she whispered, placing her hands on his chest. "I wish time would just stop and I could stay here forever."

"Yes, but…if that did happen…I wouldn't get to do with you everything I wanted to. But," He breathed, nuzzling her neck. "That does sound like a nice idea at the moment."

Then, Kyo wrapped his arms tightly around her, as her lips found his.

----

**Epilogue**

**(Two Weeks Later)**

Tohru and Kyo stepped onto the train and took their seats. As the train began to move, they got one good last look at the home they were leaving behind.

"We'll come back," Kyo said, noticing her distant look. He grabbed her hand and held it.

She looked at him and smiled. "I know. It just feels strange to be leaving. I've spent practically my entire life here."

"Me too," Kyo said with a nod. "But somehow it feels nice to get away for quite awhile."

Tohru smiled. "Yes. Especially since we're just starting our lives together. That's really exciting. I'm eager to see our new home."

"You'll really like it. Hokkaido is a nice place. There's not many cities there. Mainly country. The house we are living in is in a small town."

"Maybe sometime we should invite our friends for a visit," Tohru said excitedly. "I'm sure they'd like that."

"Me too. But, let's wait a while before we do that."

----

The train began to slow; and all Tohru could see out the window was country. A few houses here and there; but, no sky scrapers, or large schools like there were where they were at before. Her eyes lit up. "It's beautiful, Kyo-kun."

Since it was autumn, the trees were all gold, red, yellow, or purple. It looked absolutely beautiful. "It is, isn't it?"

The train pulled to a complete stop; and it's passengers emptied out onto the platform. Kyo looked around for Kashuko and Kayui. Then, an older couple came running up to them. "Kyo!" The older woman called, practically running towards them. "It's so wonderful to see you!"

"Hey, Obaa-san," Kyo said happily. "Nice to see you too."

Tohru looked at Kashuko in interest. She was an elegant looking old woman, yet at the same time, she seemed very sweet and endearing.

"You must be Kyo's bride," she said, smiling wide. "Very cute girl you chose! What's your name, dear?"

"My name is Tohru. Your name is Kashuko-san, right?" Tohru asked with a bow.

"Yes. But please, dear girl, feel free to just call me Obaa-san or Kashuko. We're family now. There's no need to be so formal with me," Kashuko said with a chuckle.

"Okay," Tohru said smiling. "Such an honor to meet you, Obaa-san."

Kyo looked around. "Where's Kayui-sensei?"

"Oh, he had to stay at home. He has classes today in the dojo. But, his classes should be almost over with once we arrive at the house," Kashuko said reassuringly. "He's quite excited that you two are coming to live with us."

"I can't wait to meet him," Tohru said eagerly.

----

Tohru gazed up at the house. It was quite large. "Wow. It is big."

"Yes," Kashuko said with a nod. "It's a very nice place to live. It's a pain to clean sometimes though."

"I like cleaning," Tohru said, eyes lighting up. "I can help you if you want." The thought of a big house to help clean excited her.

"I would very much appreciate the help, Tohru-chan," Kashuko thanked her. "It's wonderful to have another woman in the house."

Then, an older man slid open the door that seemed to belong to the dojo. "Well, if it isn't Kyo." He smiled and jumped down onto the grass. He walked over to them and took Tohru's hand, and kissed it. "And who might this charming young woman be?"

Tohru blushed. "I-I'm Kyo's wife, Tohru…are you Kayui-san?"

"Yes. Yes I am. I heard that Kyo had settled down with someone. He seemed to have made a fine choice. Just like me." He laughed, reaching for Kashuko, and kissing her.

"Kayui…," Kashuko said with a laugh, and blushing. "Shouldn't we show them the house, now?"

"Right. Right we should," He laced his fingers into Kashuko's, and turned to Kyo and Tohru. "So, do you want to see the house or what?" He smiled at them.

"Yes, that would be nice," Tohru said with a nod.

Kayui and Kashuko stepped inside into the dojo. Tohru looked at Kyo and smiled. "Wow. They're really friendly. They seem to love each other quite a bit, too."

"Yeah," Kyo said with a laugh. "They've been married for almost fifty years. We should probably go inside." With that, he wrapped his arm around her waist, and stepped into their new home.

**THE END**

----

A/N: Hello readers! I can't believe I made it to the last chapter of _Calico._ But don't fret…the sequel, _Marmalade,_ will be up very soon! I can't wait to get started on it. Expect many surprises in the next story!!!!

See ya again soon!

God Bless!

-Takara-star-chan


End file.
